Life at the End of World
by Rachel Wilder
Summary: They say that life if what happens when you're making plans...a sometimes poignant, sometimes funny look at the missing three weeks after Deacon told Rayna about his liver cancer diagnosis.
1. Chapter 1

Deacon walked into his house, turning on a light as he headed toward the kitchen. The past 72 hours felt like seven years, but at the same time felt like seven moments.

Three days ago he had been trying to decide whether or not he should go to the Opry to play with the girls for their debut, about whether or not he could be around Rayna and not break down about the cancer, the transplant, the possibility that his life was coming to an end.

Now, three days later, so much had happened. Rayna knew about his cancer, about what had caused it, about what he was facing. And she was insistent on being there for him. No matter what.

And the girls knew and it was as painful as he could tell the way that Maddie wouldn't quite look at him that he was breaking her heart. It was the worst feeling in the world.

He felt so much love from having Rayna there, on his side. It was hard to leave her earlier after she got home from her day of taking care of Sadie, taking care of Juliette-just like she always did, but after three days, he needed a shower, he needed a change of clothes...he needed to take a breath and recenter.

He saw the light blinking on his answering machine and reached over to press it. As the message from Dr. Rand's office played, it washed over him.

He still had cancer. His tumor was still growing. He might still die. And leave Rayna. Leave the girls. Break their hearts.

He sighed and wrote down the appointment time for the next day. Even with everything that had happened during those three days, life was still marching on and for him, it might just be running out.

* * *

Rayna slipped from the arms of the girls and carefully crawled out of the bed, trying not to wake the girls. She headed toward her room, pulling the covers back on her bed and slipping between the sheets.

The past three days felt like a marathon. Her body ached, she was exhausted beyond belief, but she also had this wash of feelings-her love for Deacon was so intense, but the potential pain of what might come next also was mixed into all of it.

She rolled on her side and reached for her phone that lay on the table next to the bed.

 _Love you_ she texted.

 _Love you back_ he responded.

 _Miss you already_ she wrote.

There was a pause, then a response from him.

 _Me too._

 _Come back._

 _I will._

 _Now._

 _Now?_

 _Now._

Rayna lay against the pile of pillows, the phone silent in her hand, her body suddenly no longer tired, but still aching-now for Deacon.

 _On my way_ was his response.

 _;-)_ she answered back.

 _Huh?_ He asked.

 _Just come and don't text while you're driving_ she typed.

* * *

Deacon pulled his truck into the driveway behind Rayna's house. For years this had been a place the felt mostly off-limits to him. It was the home she'd made with Teddy, where she lived with her family. The years that he'd been in her band, before things ended with Teddy, before he knew about Maddie, they had worked so hard to keep a hard line between that personal and the professional. It was the blurring of that line a few years earlier that had ended their professional relationship and nearly so much more.

That had never really changed in the few weeks that he was with Rayna before he found out about Maddie, before the accident. Rayna had tried to get him to come over to stay a night when the girls were with Teddy, but he'd refused. It still felt like Teddy's house to him back then.

After he knew about Maddie everything was so different. It felt like he had the right to come into this house, now and then. His daughter lived there. And to be honest, seeing Luke in Rayna's house just made him want to assert his presence a little bit more. He could tell it made Wheeler uncomfortable.

It seemed to unsettle Rayna a bit too and if he was being honest, he liked that as well. It was one thing for Rayna to decide she couldn't be with him, but he was never going to make that an easy choice for her.

And now, he was here. Rayna had asked him to come back and it wasn't going to be to sit on the couch or go in the music room or…

He looked up at the kitchen window and could see her there, leaning against the counter. She had probably heard him pull up and was wondering what was holding him up.

Nothing but the memories. Same as always.

* * *

Rayna took a long drink from the glass of water she'd poured while she waited for Deacon to come to the door. He'd been sitting in his truck for nearly ten minutes and it was taking all she could muster to not go out and see what was going on with him.

But she'd listened to what he had said at the cabin and she knew that he was struggling with everything going on in his life. She wasn't going to let him run off and hide, but she was going to try to give him his space when it seemed like he needed it.

Like right now. Sitting in his dark truck. In her driveway.

There was a light tap on the door and she walked over and unlocked it.

"Hey," she said, her voice quiet and low.

"Hey," he responded, then leaned in and kissed her. "Thanks for inviting me back."

"You get that shower?" she asked, looking down at his fresh clothes.

He nodded. He looked at her, her hair tousled, the worn t-shirt from the Bluebird and he couldn't stop himself-he pulled her to him, pressing his body against hers, his lips against hers, kissing her deeply. Her hands ran up his back and kneaded against his shoulder blades. He wasn't sure he could wait much longer.

"You want to come upstairs or you just going to take me in my kitchen?" she teased when they finally pulled apart.

"I've never been upstairs," Deacon replied.

Rayna held out her hand. "Well, maybe it's about time you saw the rest of the house."

* * *

Deacon followed Rayna out of the kitchen and through the wide, grand hallway toward the front staircase. He wasn't kidding-he'd never been upstairs in her house, via the front stairs or the back. Honestly, this might be the first house he'd ever been in that had two sets of stairs like this one. He looked up at the brick work.

"I know...it's a bit much," Rayna said. "Sorry, I usually go up the back way, but this way we don't have to go past the girls' rooms."

"Ray...we don't have to…" He felt a little weird, sneaking in here while Maddie and Daphne were sleeping in their rooms.

She stopped and turned back to him, her hand still firmly locked with his. "Deacon, I want you here. I need you here, with me. So, stop fussing and come upstairs with me."

The corners of his mouth tipped up slightly as he suppressed a laugh and followed her up the stairs. Rayna had a way of getting what she wanted. No matter how long it took or what she had to do.

* * *

She led him down the dark hall, pausing at the door to what he assumed was her bedroom.

"Haven't had you in my bed for a long time, Deacon Claybourne," she whispered.

And honestly, he'd never been in "her" bed...she'd come to his and they had shared beds, but this was the first time for him in her bed.

She led him into the room and even though his boots he could feel how thick and rich the carpet was. This was no flea bag hotel along the highway or starter house in the suburbs. No, he was in Rayna Jaymes' mansion, in the master bedroom, about to get into her king size bed where…

Deacon stopped short of the bed.

"What's the matter?" she said as she took a half step back from him.

"I'm just not sure about…"

"About what?" she asked. He could tell that he was interrupting her flow of the evening.

"No, it's fine," he responded, taking another half step toward the bed and then stopping again.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, sliding her arm around his back, pulling him close again.

"Is this...do I have to,,," he stammered.

"What is the matter, Deacon?" she asked, now stepping back from him.

"I'm not sure I can sleep in the same bed that you shared with Teddy and Luke," he finally admitted. "Sorry…"

Rayna looked at him and laughed as she pulled her t-shirt up over her head revealing her amazing breasts.

"Teddy liked a firm mattress. Way too firm. Luke demanded one of those number beds that adjust. Me, I'm a fan of memory foam. The good kind...so no worries. The frame belonged to my grandparents and I'm not giving that up, but this is a new bed, Deacon."

Deacon chuckled, sat down on the bench at the end of the bed and leaned over to pull off his boots.

"Good, because I'm not sure I could have made it out of here without some resolution to what you started downstairs."

Rayna came over and slid onto his lap, facing him, her now bare skin pressing against him. "Good, because I'm not letting you out of here until we finish what we started."

She reached up and started unbuttoning his flannel shirt, easing it back and off his shoulders. She leaned in and kissed the skin along his chest, then moved up and began to kiss his lips, more urgently with each one.

He stood up, carrying her to bed. He set her down on the duvet and unzipped his jeans. Her hands reached up, helping him shed the denim.

He finished undressing and slid into the bed with her, suddenly not giving a damn who had been in this room and when. Right now it was just he and Rayna. And for the moment, it felt like there was nothing else left in the world.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Deacon woke up the next morning to find Rayna watching him sleep.

"You been awake for long?" he asked as he rolled on his side.

She shook her head. "I have to tell you-I've dreamed about having you right here."

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her but she laughed and pulled away. "No, I mean I LITERALLY dreamed about having you here."

Deacon pulled her close, his chin resting on her soft shoulder, his legs wrapping around hers. "You going to tell me more or leave it to my imagination."

"I should leave it to your imagination," Rayna answered. "It's not a very flattering story for me."

Deacon leaned forward and nipped at her shoulder. "Now you have to tell me."

Rayna rolled on her side so she was facing him. "It was after that night at the Bluebird."

Deacon shook his head, looking confused. "Which one? I mean, there's been a few of them over the years."

"That night we sang _No One Will Ever Love You_ ," Rayna replied.

Deacon rolled on his back and laughed. "No wonder you were so pissed at me. That song, you had a sex dream and then I egged poor Teddy on at that fundraiser."

"You've always had his number," Rayna replied. "You realize that, don't you? Any man who has ever tried to be in my life, you just stand over there on the side with that little smirk of yours."

"You mean this one?" Deacon answered as he slid closer to her again, his fingers running across her skin, teasing her, a slight smile on his face.

"You're evil, Deacon Claybourne! And like it or not, you're gonna have to get out of this bed and start making your way back to your truck before those girls wake up-I'm thinking we should probably at least pretend to ease into all of this for their sake."

The smile drifted from Deacon's face and he nodded. "Time for me to get a shower first?"

"Sure," Rayna replied. "You can use Luke or Teddy's soap-I just left it all in the shower just in case they came back or I had some other guy show up needing a manly scent."

"That's real sweet of you, babe," he started and then cracked up again.

"What now?" Rayna asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I'm just trying to imagine this dream...and what happened afterward? How did you wake up? Did I meet your needs before…"

Rayna slapped him on the arm. "Stop it, Deacon. It's mean."

"I can't believe you're being this cruel to me," he replied. "I mean, it could be a dying man's wish to hear all about the sex dream you had about me and now you're just teasing me."

Rayna looked at him, shaking her head. "Now you're definitely not playing fair." Her face grew serious, but Deacon slid his arm around her and pulled her close.

"Babe, we might have a lot of stuff to cry about as things go along, so let's not worry about that stuff now. And in the meantime, we probably only have time for one shower, so I hope the shower in that bathroom is bigger than the one at my house and we can both fit."

Rayna laughed, her face relaxing again. "Not only is that shower bigger than the one at your house, but the bathroom back there is bigger than that crappy first apartment we rented."

Deacon got out of bed and held out his hand. "Okay, now that I do need to see, Luke Wheeler's aftershave and all."

* * *

"You want to stay for breakfast?" Rayna asked quietly as they walked down the steps.

"Doesn't that kind of give away what we were doing?" Deacon replied. "Like you said, I don't want to make the girls feel uncomfortable."

"Nah, just leave for a little bit and then drive back up like you were coming to visit," Rayna suggested.

"At seven in the morning?" Deacon teased her. "Nobody's gonna buy that."

"Go get donuts. The girls' excitement over the sugar will cover any oddities in your behavior," Rayna replied.

"I'm not totally sure I can make it to my truck...I'm still thinking about that shower and what happened in there." Deacon paused at the bottom of the staircase and cocked his head at her.

Rayna laughed. "So, you liked that?"

Deacon slid his arm around her waist and pressed her up against the wall in the front hall. "I liked that part where you let me wash your hair...I mean, it's a pretty spectacular head of hair."

"I liked that part where I washed your back," Rayna replied as she raked her hands across his back. She pulled him close and kissed him deeply. "I could get used to having you around like this."

"Me too," Deacon replied. "But if I'm gonna get my hands on those donuts, I better get going."

"You have some place else to be today?" Rayna asked, sliding her hands down lower, across his back and down past his waist. She felt his back stiffen slightly.

"Uh, yeah...I do got somewhere to be today," Deacon responded, pulling back from her.

Rayna looked at him, a confused look crossing her face. His demeanor changed so quickly. "What's going on, Deacon?"

Deacon looked down at the floor and then back up at her. "I have an MRI this morning. Actually, I should probably just go and get ready for that. I guess I just wasn't thinking about the time and such."

"Can I go with you?" Rayna asked, as she took Deacon's hand in hers. "I want to be there for you, babe."

Deacon shook his head. "Not this time, Ray. Let me...just let me do this on my own."

"You know we're in this together, right?" Rayna said as she slid closer to him. She ran her hand down the edge of his face. "So, please, tell me how to do that for you."

Deacon nodded. "I will and today, what I need you to do is take the girls to school, spend some time with them and then come have lunch with me and I'll tell you what the doctor said."

"Okay," Rayna replied. "But I get to pick the place for lunch, right?"

"Hmmm…" Deacon answered as he slid her back against the wall again.

"Okay, you can pick, as long as we can have burgers," Rayna responded.

Deacon leaned in and kissed her again. "So, burgers...meet me at the Pharmacy at 1 o'clock?"

"Seems fitting," Rayna answered.

"Mom!"

They both turned their heads at the sound of Daphne's voice upstairs.

"Okay, I'm going," Deacon said and he headed toward the kitchen to leave.

"Love you," Rayna called after him. He turned and smiled at her, then headed out the door.

"Mom?"

Rayna turned back at the sound of Daphne's voice as the door shut.

"Was someone here?" Daphne asked at the sound of Deacon starting his truck.

"Yeah," Rayna replied. "Deacon just dropped by to give me some...some stuff he had that I needed."

Daphne shot her a look of disbelief. "At seven in the morning?"

Rayna headed toward the counter and started to make coffee. "I needed it right away, for a meeting...with Bucky."

"Uh, okay," Daphne said. "Hey, did you get more cereal? We only had Cheerios yesterday-that's why Deacon took us out for breakfast. Cheerios are unacceptable."

Rayna turned back to her youngest and smiled. "Okay, no Cheerios for you-how about I make eggs?"

"With cheese?"

"Of course," Rayna responded. Eggs with cheese...at least that seemed like it was enough of a distraction to get Daphne's mind off Deacon's "appearance" that morning. She looked over at the clock. Less than six hours until she would see him again. Time couldn't move fast enough.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mmmm…" Rayna said as she took a bite of her burger, raising her hand to wipe at her chin. "This is amazing."

"How you eat like that and look like you do," Deacon started. "I've never been able to figure that one out."

"It's part of my energetic personality," Rayna replied. "What I can't figure out is how you can eat the exact same thing again and again and again."

"I am not eating the same thing as always," Deacon replied. "I did not get fries." He took a bite of his burger.

"That is very true and very odd," Rayna responded. "Do you want some of mine? I know you love fries."

"Nah," Deacon said, shaking his head. "I'm...I'm supposed to watch my salt, eat more protein."

"Oh," Rayna replied as she laid her burger down on the plate and looked out the window. She turned back to him and smiled. "How did things go this morning?"

"Fine," Deacon said as he took another bite of his burger.

Rayna reached across the table and took his hand in hers. "I know you don't want to talk about this, babe, but I need more than fine. Okay?"

Deacon nodded. He took a sip of his water. "Actually, I just went in for the test this morning. They don't tell you anything there. I'm goin' back to see the doctor this afternoon at three."

"Will you let me go with you?" Rayna asked.

Deacon nodded. "Yeah, Scarlett's been goin' with me, but yeah, I'd like that."

"Okay," Rayna replied. She tightened her hand around his. "Thank you, babe."

Deacon leaned across the table and kissed her, then leaned back. "Okay, but now I need my hand back so I can finish this burger and you can eat your fries."

* * *

Deacon held the door to Dr. Rand's office as Rayna walked in and took a seat across from his desk.

"Dr. Rand, this is my friend, Rayna. I've been trying to get her up to speed about what's happening and thought it might be easier to have her come with me and ask any questions she might have," Deacon explained as he sat down.

"Good to meet you, Rayna. I'm happy to talk about any aspect of Deacon's illness and treatment with his approval," the doctor replied.

"Tell her anything she asks about," Deacon responded. "Me and Ray...we don't have any secrets. Not anymore."

The doctor put up the scans from Deacon's MRI on a screen in his office and started explaining the results. The tumor had grown, as they thought it would. But it was still within the guidelines for a transplant.

"Does this impact," Rayna started, looking down at some notes she had on a sheet, "on the MELD score?"

"It does," Dr. Rand replied. "This growth will move Deacon higher on the list and I'm hopeful that we'll have a donor liver soon for him.

"How are you feeling otherwise?" the doctor asked. "Any more issues?"

"Nope, everything's been fine," Deacon replied.

"Well then, we'll see you next week," the doctor answered. "And in the meantime, call me if anything comes up."

Deacon and Rayna said their goodbyes and walked out into the hall.

"What did he mean by more issues?" Rayna asked as they walked down the hall.

Deacon paused and looked down at his boots. "Nothin'. It was just…"

Rayna put her arm on his. "You said in there no more secrets. What was it?"

"It was when Beverly was here. I missed a dose of my medication and there was some stress with her showin' up and me not knowin' about it."

"What happened, Deacon," Rayna asked again.

"I had this seizure thing. I couldn't...I wasn't makin' any sense and Scarlett was there and she got me through it," Deacon explained.

"Has it happened again?" Rayna asked, her face covered with concern.

Deacon shook his head. "Nope, just that one time. And I've been real religious about taking the pills and trying to keep things less stressful."

Rayna moved closer to him. "Is that why you kept it to yourself? Didn't tell me or Maddie?"

Deacon leaned into her. "No...I didn't tell you because it made it too real and that...I just couldn't handle doin' that."

Rayna slid her arms around him and pulled him close, holding him in her embrace as people walked past them down the hallway.

Rayna's phone beeped and she looked down. "Maddie's going to a friend's for dinner and Daphne has a meeting for her field trip." She looked up at Deacon and smiled. "Maybe we should grab this time and go get rid of some of our stress."

A smile crossed Deacon's face. "Sounds perfect to me."

* * *

Rayna led Deacon by the hand into her kitchen. "It's hard to believe this house is ever this quiet."

They crossed to the island and she leaned against it. Deacon pressed up against her and kissed her deeply. His hands slipped up along her side, his right hand cupping her breast.

"God, Ray, I've missed this," he said as he continued kissing her, exploring her body.

"How about we take this upstairs?" she offered.

Deacon paused for a moment, then smiled at her. "How about you show me your music room, instead?"

"Oh, you want to see my music room?" she teased.

"I know I want to make some music with you," he replied, a smile crossing his face.

Rayna stopped. "Are you mocking me, Deacon Claybourne?"

Deacon stood up straight, removed the smile from his face and shook his head. "Not at all, Rayna Jaymes. I would very much like to see your music room and then, I'd like to return to your bedroom and have some personal time there. Serious enough for you?"

She lightly swatted him and led him down the hall. "I hope it doesn't seem too bougie for you."

She pushed open the door and led him into a room that clearly had been designed to honor her career and to allow her to create music.

"Oh, Ray," he said as he walked over to the wall with her gold records hanging on it. "These are some 's not...what did you say...bougie?"

"Some good years there," Rayna answered.

"And some bad," Deacon replied. "But so much good, no, really great music."

Rayna sat down on the couch. "It's been a good escape for me, a place to write, listen to music. But I've always had this one dream.'

Deacon sat down next to her and took her hand. "What's that, babe?"

She pointed at the wall in front of them. "Teddy's office is back there. I haven't done anything with it since the divorce, but I have to be honest...ever since I heard Juliette put a little studio in her house, I've wanted one. I mean, not for doing an album, but a place to make scratch tracks, when something comes up to get it on tape."

Deacon got up and moved to the wall. "I can see it...a mixing board, glass wall so you can see the booth. You should do it, Ray."

"We could make some great music here," she replied.

Deacon crossed back to the couch. "I think I'm ready to do that right now."

* * *

"I should probably go make us some dinner," Rayna said as she rolled away from Deacon, their clothes scattered on the floor around them.

"I'm thinking I'd rather go measure the dimensions of that shower again," Deacon replied. "I'm still full from that burger at lunch. Care to join me?"

Rayna slid her hand up along the edge of Deacon's face. "Of course. That's an invitation I'll always be happy to accept."

Deacon got up from the couch and headed for the door. As he walked away, Rayna let out a low whistle.

He opened the door and walked out into the hall, then just as quickly stepped back into the room.

"Back so soon for more?" Rayna asked, her voice low and her arm outstretched to him.

Deacon shook his head.

"Are you blushing?" she asked him."What in the world, Deacon Claybourne?"

Deacon headed toward the corner, quickly pulling his jeans on.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked as she pulled the blanket from the couch up around her.

"Daphne," was his only response.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Rayna slid her blouse over her head. "How did it get so late?"

Deacon pulled a boot up over his left foot. "Guess we just lost track of time." He looked over and smiled at Rayna. "But it was a good time."

"Stop!" she said, swatting at him. "How's my hair?"

Deacon stood up and moved over to her. "Gorgeous as always...I mean, except for this bunch in the back that's, well, kind of sticking up."

Rayna began pulling her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it down. "Any better?"

Deacon stood, examining her. "Not perfect, but I think okay. You ready to go out there?"

Rayna shook her head. "I have to admit, I'm a little embarrassed. You think she'll figure it out?"

Deacon shrugged and reached his hand out to her. "Hey, remember, we used to make stuff up all the time, when we were first gettin' together."

Rayna laughed. "And as I recall, we fooled no one. What did Vince say about when we would come out of the back of the bus?"

A slow smile crept across his face. "Somethin' about pheromones, I think. You think Daphne knows about those?"

Rayna leaned in and kissed him. "If she knows what they are, I sure hope she doesn't know what they smell like."

Rayna pushed open the door and started walking down the hall. "So, as I was saying, I'm trying to work out the chorus on that last song and then I'm thinking I'd like to get back into the studio-I need to rework part of the list and I'd like to get a single out before too long…"

She stopped at the end of the hall. "Daphne! Oh good, you're home. Deacon just dropped by to talk about…"

"A chorus," Daphne responded. "You were practically yelling that as you walked down the hall. Is Deacon going deaf as well?"

Rayna shot her a look, but Deacon started laughing.

"Anyway, you want some dinner?" Rayna asked as she crossed past her daughter and opened the refrigerator. "I can make some spaghetti or we can order in or…"

"They fed us at the meeting," Daphne replied. "Actually, I should be going upstairs to work on my homework. I mean, unless you need me to help you with your chorus, too."

Rayna turned back toward the kitchen island where Daphne sat, Deacon standing next to her. "That sounds great, honey. Well, again, Deacon, it was lovely you were able to come by and help and…"

"I'm headed on my way home," Deacon said as he slid his coat back on and hitched his messenger bag over his shoulder. "Good to see you, Daphne."

He crossed over and gave Rayna a quick kiss and whispered in her ear, "Let me know when you need me to come back and help with that chorus. I've got a great idea for a bridge."

Rayna smiled and nodded. "See you later, babe."

Deacon waved and headed for the door.

"You didn't need to make him leave," Daphne said after the door closed. "I mean, now that...well, I think you're allowed to have unsupervised time together."

"What do you know about unsupervised time, anyway?" Rayna replied. "And where is your sister?"

"She said something about going to Chloe's," Daphne responded. "I think she has a group project or something. Look at your phone, she probably texted you."

Rayna picked up her phone and sure enough there was a text. Maddie was at Chloe's and Chloe's mom would bring her home by 10 pm.

"Okay, I'm headed up," Daphne said as she pulled her backpack over her shoulder and headed toward the steps. "Don't forget to eat something."

"Got, honey," Rayna replied as Daphne left.

She stood there for a minute, then picked up her phone again. _No need for you to run off_ , she texted Deacon. _Daphne went to her room and Maddie won't be home until 10. Want to come back?_

 _Better head home_ he responded. _Haven't quite gotten as much sleep as I need these days, but tomorrow?_

 _Definitely_ she replied. _I'm clearing my day for you._

She set the phone down and took a seat on one of the kitchen stools. The reality of the day suddenly washed over her. Deacon was back in her life, but he was sick. Really, really sick. He'd been positive for her, but being in the doctor's office had made it all seem so real.

Deacon had cancer. He needed a liver transplant. He might die.

Without being able to control it, for the first time since the cabin, she put her head in her hands and let herself cry.

* * *

Colt pulled his jeep up to the gate in front of Maddie's house.

"Better just let me out here," Maddie said as she reached for her backpack.

"Are you going to tell her that you've been coming over?" Colt asked as he put the car into park.

Maddie shrugged. "There's like a lot of stuff going on right now. I'll tell them soon."

"Something I can help with?" Colt asked. "You know you can tell me anything."

Maddie shook her head. "I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

Colt reached over and took her hand. "I can tell something's been on your mind, the last couple of days. I mean, aren't you supposed to be happy that your mom and dad are back together? You told me it was everything you always wanted."

Maddie looked away from him, out the window. "Yeah, I know, I thought it would be, but…" her voice was flat, without emotion.

"Just tell me," Colt asked again. "It can just stay between us."

Maddie looked at him, tears running from her eyes. "It's my dad. He's...he's really sick. He...he might die, Colt."

Colt was quiet. "Geez, Maddie...I'm sorry. Is this...is this why you've been so, I don't know…" he said, stumbling over his words.

Maddie started crying harder. "I can't...I can't…"

Colt pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry," he said, then repeated himself over and over, trying to comfort her.

They sat that way for about fifteen minutes until she was able to stop crying. She brushed the tears from her face and looked up at the house. "I better go in there before my mom calls Chloe and figures out I wasn't there."

Colt nodded, not sure what else to say. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

Maddie opened the door and got out of the Jeep. "See you tomorrow. And thank you."

He sat as she opened the side gate and started walking up to the house, then put the Jeep into gear and headed back to his dad's ranch.

* * *

Maddie walked up to the kitchen door and looked in. Her mom was sitting at the kitchen counter. She wiped her face again and opened the door.

"Hey, Mom," she called as she walked into the room, trying to make her voice bright.

Rayna looked over at her and smiled. "How was Chloe? Making good progress on your project?"

Maddie nodded her head and smiled."Yeah, it's going great. I...I should go up and finish my homework, though."

"Come give me a hug," Rayna said, holding her arms out.

Maddie crossed to her and slipped into her mom's arms. Her mom didn't say anything, but Maddie could tell she'd been crying. Hard. She wanted to say something, but it felt like if she said something to her mom, if they started talking about it, about Deacon dying, she'd never be able to stop crying again.

"Okay, honey, go finish up your homework," her mom said as she let Maddie slip from her arms. "You doing, okay?"

Maddie nodded, not trusting her voice to say anything. "Good night, Mom," she finally let out.

"Night, honey," Rayna said as Maddie headed upstairs.

* * *

"How's Colt?"

Maddie looked up to see her younger sister standing in her doorway. Daphne walked into the room and sat down on Maddie's bed where she had her computer open.

"What do you mean?" Maddie said.

"I know you weren't at Chloe's house tonight," Daphne explained. "Her sister is in my class and she's going on my field trip."

Maddie closed the lid of her computer and looked at her sister. "Don't tell Mom or Deacon. I just...I don't want to have to explain this, too."

"I can keep a secret," Daphne said. "But you did miss something here while you were gone."

"What?" Maddie asked.

Daphne leaned forward. "I think I caught them."

Maddie scrunched up her face in confusion. "Caught who? Doing what?"

"Mom and Deacon," Daphne whispered. "When I got home. She said they were working on a chorus for a song, but Deacon...he didn't have his guitar and Mom...well, her hair was really messed up."

Maddie shook her head. "Maybe we should give them some private time...I mean…it's like they've been waiting their whole lives for this time and…" She started to cry again.

Daphne slid closer, taking Maddie in her arms. "It'll be okay, Maddie."

Maddie tucked her face against her sister's shoulder. "No, it won't. It's not going to be okay."

* * *

When Rayna came upstairs, the hall was dark and quiet. She looked in Daphne's room and was surprised to see her bed empty. She crossed the hall and gently pushed the door open to Maddie's room.

They were both asleep in Maddie's bed. She smiled. The girls shared a room before they built this house and for the the first year, Daphne had come in and slept with her older sister every night.

She walked over to the edge of bed and pulled the duvet up around Maddie's shoulder. She leaned down and kissed each of them gently on the forehead. She watched them sleep for a few minutes, then headed toward her room.

She knew they were hurting. It had been a confusing time with the cancellation of her wedding, the things happening with Teddy and now Deacon's illness. She had to stay strong for them, be that calming presence that they needed.

As she walked into her dressing room, her phone buzzed. She pulled it from her pocket and looked down at it.

 _Love you, babe._

She smiled and tapped a quick response. _Love you, too, babe. Forever._

Now they just needed to make sure that forever lasted a little bit longer.

* * *

Deacon looked down at his phone. It was taking everything in his body not to get back in his truck and drive back over to her house. Now that he'd let himself open up to her, he craved Rayna with every inch of his being.

But he also felt like it was selfish. And it was unfair.

Why would this happen to him now? When everything in his life was finally going to work out? He rolled on his side, lying there for what felt like hours, unable to sleep, then sat up.

He could hear his dad's voice in his head. The voice telling him he'd never be anything but a drunk like him.

He heard Beverly telling him no, that she wouldn't save him.

He heard Teddy telling him he wasn't a father.

The voices were interrupted by the sound of front door opening. Scarlett must have just gotten home.

But there was a light tapping on the door to his bedroom and then it swung open.

"You got room in there for two?" Rayna asked as she slipped in the door.

Deacon laid back down on his side and patted the bed next time him. Rayna slid off her boots and jeans and slid into bed next to him, pressing her back into his chest and arms.

"I couldn't sleep," she said. "I missed you, too much."

He leaned in and kissed her hair. "I want you in my bed every night, babe."

And then, with his arms around her, they slept.


	5. Chapter 5

Deacon awoke to the sound of the alarm on Rayna's phone. He looked over at the clock. It was 5 am.

"Babe," he whispered, smoothing her hair away from her face. "Time to get up."

Rayna rolled toward him and gave him a sleepy smile. "Why is it so early?" she asked.

Deacon leaned in and kissed her. "Because you need to get home and act like you slept there all night. Now, hop in the shower and I'll make you some coffee."

"How about you get in the shower with me and I'll stop at Starbucks on the way home?" Rayna countered.

Deacon laughed and kissed her again. "Much as I love that idea, I know how long that shower would take and you need to get moving, babe."

Rayna reluctantly rolled out of Deacon's bed and headed for the bathroom. "Hey, any worries I'm going to run into anyone here?"

Deacon shook his head. "No sign of Scarlett's car...the bus was supposed to get back last night, but I'm thinking she made a stop off to see someone before coming home."

"Good to know," Rayna answered as she stepped into the small bathroom off Deacon's bedroom. She stopped and stuck her head back out. "Last chance to get in here with me."

"Next time," Deacon replied as he slid his jeans up his legs and reached for a t-shirt. "Now get moving. I don't want to be busted by Daphne again."

* * *

Rayna walked out of Deacon's room, her hair wrapped in one of his bath towels. She crossed to the kitchen and walked up behind him, putting her arms around him as he stood in front of the stove scrambling eggs.

"That smells amazing, babe," she said as she tightened her arms around him.

Deacon turned toward her and kissed her. "I love having you here in the morning, but that reminds me-how exactly did you get in my house last night?"

Rayna smiled at him. "Deacon, you still keep a key under that flower pot on the porch. I mean, how many times did I tell you that's the first place a thief's going to look?"

"Guess it just depends on who's gonna come stealin' into my bedroom," he replied, smiling at her. "Okay, eat up these eggs and let me get you a cup of coffee and then you better get out of here."

Rayna took the plate from Deacon and sat down at the table. "Thanks, babe."

Deacon handed her a mug of coffee and sat down with his own plate. "I've missed having you here."

"I notice you didn't change out your bed," Rayna teased. "That has to be the same mattress as the one we had when I lived here. I remember the lumps."

"Didn't want to get rid of our bed," Deacon replied, his voice quiet.

Rayna took another sip of her coffee, then reached her hand across to take his. "I can't decide how to think about the past. We can't change it and I don't want us to spend all of our time now wishing it away. We need to own our story, our truth and be stronger here, together."

Deacon nodded, then leaned in toward her, kissing her.

Rayna slid her hand around his back and pulled him closer, kissing him deeply. "I love you, Deacon Claybourne."

They finished the kiss and she smiled at him. "So, the girls are going to have dinner with Teddy tonight, so you and me...how about a date?"

"A date?" Deacon asked. "Aren't we a little old for that?"

"Be ready at 6 pm," Rayna instructed. "I'll pick you up. And dress smart."

"Smart?" Deacon asked as Rayna stood up and grabbed her purse.

"No flannel," she explained.

* * *

Rayna looked up from her computer at the sound of Bucky knocking on the glass door to her office.

"You ready to talk about those demos I sent over last week?" Bucky asked as he sat down in the chair in front of her desk.

"Uh," Rayna started, her eyes going again to the screen. She looked back up at him. "Sorry, Buck, I haven't gotten all the way through them. Things are...can you give me another day or two?"

"Sure, Rayna," Bucky replied. "Is everything okay? Is it the girls?"

Rayna pressed a smile across her face. "It's...I'm just gonna need a little time, Bucky. And for now, can I ask you not to ask more questions? Can you...can you cover things for me for a bit?"

"Sure, Ray, anything," Bucky replied. "But you let me know if I can do something to help, right?"

Rayna nodded. "Of course."

Bucky got up and walked out of the office, closing the door. Rayna quickly returned to the website she'd been reading when he walked in a few minutes ago.

LIVER CANCER STAGES

Her eyes traveled down the page filled with words she either didn't understand or didn't want to understand. T groups and N groups and M groups. What was the stage of his cirrhosis?

POTENTIALLY RESECTABLE OR TRANSPLANTABLE CANCERS

What if his disease progressed before they could find a new liver? Her head dropped into her hands and she sat that way for a moment, then pulled out her phone and slid a card from her purse.

"I would like to speak to Doctor Caleb Rand, please," she spoke into the phone. "Please tell him it's Rayna Jaymes calling."

* * *

"Welcome home," Deacon said, looking over his glasses at his niece as she walked in the door. "How'd the tour go?"

"It's been...interesting," Scarlett replied as she set her suitcase down. "I am in serious need of doin' some laundry, though."

"Not so serious you raced home last night, though," Deacon replied as he slid his glasses off and set down the guitar he'd been restringing on the couch next to him. "You make a house call?"

Scarlett smiled and blushed. "Maybe. How about you-how're you feeling?"

"Uh...better, I guess," Deacon said.

Scarlett came over and sat down on the chair across from him. "I saw that you played at the Opry. With the girls. And Rayna. How'd that go?"

"Good...hard...stirred a bunch of stuff up, that's for sure," Deacon responded. "I...I went up to the cabin and she followed me up there."

"Did you tell her?" Scarlett asked, leaning forward.

Deacon nodded. "I did. It was hard. Hardest thing I've ever done. And then we told the girls."

Scarlett got up and moved over next to him. "I'm proud of you-I know it was really hard, but you needed to tell them."

Deacon raised his hand up to brush away the tears that had formed in his eyes. "I know...but it's been really hard. I mean, Rayna's been real upbeat, but I can see in her eyes it's breaking her heart. And Maddie...Scarlett, she won't even look at me. I can't believe I'm doing this to her."

Scarlett put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry she's takin' it hard, but I"m so glad you told them. Maybe...maybe it'll get to be easier, tellin' people and such."

Deacon shrugged. "I had to tell them, but I don't know about other folks. I just...I don't want to see that pity in their eyes."

"It's not necessarily pity, Deacon," Scarlett replied. "Sometimes it's love. Sometimes it's concern. Sometimes it's worry."

"I told Teddy," Deacon replied. "Believe me, it wasn't love or concern or worry on his face."

"I get it," Scarlett replied. "Anyway, I'm real glad you told Rayna and the girls. And it's gonna be okay, Deacon. I know it is."

Deacon reached over and picked it guitar back up. "I hope so, cause the alternative just ain't that great."

* * *

Rayna walked down the hallway of the hospital. Even though she'd only been there the day before, Deacon had led the way and she had to admit she hadn't paid a lot of attention to where they went.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" a nurse asked as she stood at the corner of two hallways.

She looked down at a slip of paper in her hand. "I'm looking for Room 235, uh, Dr. Rand's office."

"It's right down this way," the woman pointed to her left. "Just follow the signs to Hepatology."

"Thank you," Rayna said and headed that direction. Hepatology. She didn't even know what the word meant.

Finally things looked familiar and she found the office. She knocked on the door and was greeted by Deacon's doctor.

"Thank you for finding some time to see me," Rayna said as she walked into the office. "I'm sure you're very busy."

"I'm glad it worked out. You said you had some more questions?" the doctor said as he took a seat behind his desk.

Rayna sat down and pulled out a small notebook. "I spent a little time online this morning and I guess I just got overwhelmed by all of the information and not knowing what was relevant to Deacon's condition and what wasn't."

Caleb Rand nodded. "Yes, the best and worst thing right now is the internet. It's very tempting to go out there and find all the information you can and in some instances, that can be very helpful, but there are also some things that may not be relevant here."

"So, I read about different stages, about what happens with cirrhosis, but what I don't understand is why this would be happening now, so many years after Deacon stopped drinking."

The doctor looked down at the chart in front of him and then shrugged. "The problem is we can't ever know for sure. I've looked back at his medical records and there were some indications of potential liver issues but honestly, nothing that I would have probably picked up on either. According to Deacon, he was sick last fall and that virus probably exacerbated an underlying issue. But we can't go back and change any of that, so at this point we need to look at what is possible and right now that's a liver transplant."

"And what's the chances of that?" Rayna asked.

"It's not impossible, that's for sure," Caleb replied. "For a variety of reasons, the wait in this region is lower than in others, so we have a better chance of finding a donor liver than, say, if he lived in California."

"And what could go wrong before the transplant? What should I be watching for?"

"He may begin to retain fluid and then we would need to drain it. He might have neurological symptoms like a few weeks ago. His energy is probably going to start to diminish and you do need to watch that because my sense is that Deacon isn't going to be willing to show any weakness."

Rayna nodded. "You got that one right. What else? He said something about a special diet?"

"We want him to avoid salt, eat more protein, make sure he's getting enough nutrients. He's going to not always want to eat, so watch for that. But honestly, the most important thing…"

"What?" Rayna asked.

"You need to stay positive for him, make sure he's keeping some hope. This waiting, not knowing...it's one of the hardest things I see people go through and it's easy to give up. Making sure he doesn't give up is the most important thing you can do for him."

Rayna looked up and smiled at him. "Okay, I can definitely do that."

* * *

Rayna pulled the Escalade up in front of Deacon's house and smiled. She had a perfect evening planned for them. She got out of the truck and headed up toward Deacon's door. As she reached to press the bell, she looked in the window and saw him,on the couch, asleep. She stood there for a moment, then pulled her phone from her purse and pressed redial.

"Hey, Cindy, can we change the location?" She listened for a moment, then gave her Deacon's address. "Yeah, maybe in an hour or so-there's a patio in back, just set it up there."

When she had finished the arrangements, she reached under the flower pot where she'd replaced the key that morning and let herself into his house.

Deacon was sound asleep and as she stood there, she could see some of the signs of the illness that for whatever reason she'd missed before. She felt a tear come to her eye and quickly reached up to brush it away. She had heard everything Dr. Rand had said and she wasn't going to do anything that would give Deacon a reason to give up. Not one thing.


	6. Chapter 6

When Deacon woke up, the room was dark. He brushed his hand over his face and looked over at the clock on the wall.

"Shit," he shot out.

"Watch your language, there's a lady here," Rayna replied from the chair across from him.

He sat up. "Ray, it's late...we were supposed to go an hour ago. Why didn't you wake me up?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, there's something kinda sexy about sitting here watching you sleep. You gonna deny a girl that?"

"I just...I was just gonna close my eyes for a minute," he explained. "I'm sorry, did I ruin your plans?"

Rayna stood up and turned on the lamp on the table next to her, casting a warm glow across the room. "Nothing is ruined at all. C'mere, babe." She held out her hand to him and he took it, standing up from the couch. She pulled him close into an embrace. "You definitely look smart and you smell pretty darned good, too."

He nuzzled the tender spot between her neck and shoulder. "Not as amazing as you, babe."

"Hey, don't mess up my smart look," she teased him, pulling back. "Plus, I think if we go right now, we'll be right on time for our date."

"Where we going?" he asked, looking expectantly at her.

She held out her hand. "Come and follow me."

He took her hand and followed her down the hall to his back door. She pushed the door open and led him out into the yard behind his house.

"Oh, Ray," he said as he looked up. "It's like magic."

There was a small patio floor laid with a table and two chairs. Lights had been laced through the branches in the trees, giving it a fairytale look. They walked over to the table and he pulled out a chair as she sat down. A waiter appeared and lit the candle on the table. He opened a bottle of ginger ale and poured it into the goblets on the table.

Rayna raised her glass. "To us. To our history and to our future."

Deacon took his glass and lifted it toward hers. "To our family."

They each took a sip and then set the glasses down.

"So, I know the setting isn't quite the same, but I wanted to remind us of another important event," Rayna explained. "Many years ago, more than I care to remember at this point, we were starting a new time in our life and we marked that special occasion with…"

"Ginger ale," Deacon started, then he turned and looked toward the waiter standing near the corner of the house. "Please tell me that they made it…"

"Oh, they did," Rayna replied, a smile crossing her face. She nodded her head and the waiter came over with their plates and set them down on the table.

"Macaroni and cheese," Deacon said, shaking his head and smiling. "From a box. Just like my mom used to make for every special occasion."

"You made this for me, that night after Lamar kicked me out, when I wasn't sure what was going to be next for me," Rayna replied. "And cracked open that bottle of ginger ale and said we were going to celebrate the next step in our lives."

"And you made it for me that first night after I got out of rehab."

"And after my first CMA."

They sat quietly at the table, looking at one another.

"Lot of water under our bridge," Deacon said, quietly.

Rayna reached for his hand. "We're lucky to have one another, to have found one another and to have gotten back to this place. I love you, Deacon. I'm never gonna love anyone like I love you. No matter what."

* * *

Deacon pushed his chair back and looked up at the lights in the trees. "I kinda like this...think we can keep them?"

Rayna laughed. "Honestly, chances are the squirrels would come in here and chew along the cords and you'd end up with the glass from the bulbs everywhere."

"Sounds like maybe you have some experience in this area," Deacon replied, smiling at her.

Rayna took another sip of her ginger ale. "We put lights like this up for one of Daphne's birthday parties. It was a pool party...we had to drain the pool to get out all of the shards of glass."

Rayna looked down at her phone. "I better head toward home. Teddy will be dropping the girls off soon."

"They aren't staying with him for the night?" Deacon asked. "Wasn't it Tuesday and Wednesday at his house and every other weekend?"

Rayna sighed. "I do want to talk to you about this, but can we just leave it at this...Teddy's got some stuff going on and for right now, the girls are staying with me, full time. They can do dinner with him, but they're not staying with him."

"Okay," Deacon responded, his voice serious. "But Ray, you can talk to me about this stuff. I want you to share it all with me. Okay?"

She nodded. "Okay. But tonight, I need to run." She stood up from the table and he joined her, walking her around the front of the house and to her car.

"I did get you something," she said as they leaned against her Escalade.

"Oh, yeah?" Deacon replied as he leaned in and kissed her. "What's that?"

She reached in her purse and pulled out a key. "Here you go. Your own key to the house and a fob for the gate. No more punching in the security code."

Deacon took the key and the fob from her. "Thanks, babe." He fished in his pocket and pulled out another key and handed it to her. "In case that one under the flower pot goes missing."

Rayna pulled her keys from her purse and immediately put Deacon's key on her key ring. "Okay, I really should go."

Deacon leaned in and kissed her, gently. "I'll see you in the morning."

Rayna walked around to the other side of the car, unlocked the door and got into the Escalade. She started the engine and then rolled the window down on the passenger side. Deacon walked over to the car and leaned in the open window

"Deacon, why don't you follow me back. Maybe the girls will want to watch a movie or something."

"You don't want some time alone with the girls?" he replied. "I think they might be missing their mama with you running all over town and such."

She shook her head. "No, we all want to spend time together. It'll be fun."

Deacon stood there for a moment, not responding.

"I mean, if it's easier to stay here…" Rayna started. "Don't feel like you need to come."

Deacon shook his head. "No, that sounds great. But go ahead. I'm gonna run inside and do a couple things, put on some flannel."

"Okay, but don't take too long," she replied.

Deacon waved and she pulled away from the curb and headed into the night.

* * *

"Anyone want ice cream?" Teddy said as he headed back toward Rayna's house in Belle Meade. "We have time before you need to be back to your mom's house."

"I'm fine," Maddie said as she looked out the window at the street passing by.

Teddy looked up into the rearview mirror at Daphne in the back seat. "Daph?"

"I'm up for ice cream," she responded. "I bet if we stop, Maddie will want some, too."

Maddie didn't respond, but kept looking out the window. Teddy drove a bit further and then pulled into the parking lot at MaggieMoo's. "Let's go in-it's messy to eat in the car."

The girls followed him into the ice cream store and took turns ordering cones. Teddy led them to a table in the corner and they sat down.

"So, ice cream was okay with you?" he asked Maddie as she licked her cone.

"Whatever," she replied.

"That's five 'whatevers' and a couple dozen 'huh's from you tonight. Talk to me, honey," Teddy pleaded. "I know you're upset about Deacon...it's gonna be better if you talk about it."

Maddie shot him a look and set her ice cream cone down on a napkin. "I'm done. Let's go home."

"Maddie," he tried again, reaching to take her hand.

Maddie pulled it away and shook her head. "We aren't supposed to talk about it. He doesn't want us to. It's a secret and we're not supposed to tell anyone."

"But I know. And your mom knows. I wish you'd talk to us or talk to Deacon. It's not good to keep it all bottled up inside the way you are."

Maddie shook her head again, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

"It's not really a good place to talk about this," Daphne offered. "First of all, nobody likes to make a scene in public and besides, It just doesn't really feel like the right setting, here in an ice cream parlor, with kids having a birthday party to talk about that kind of stuff."

"Okay, I get it," Teddy replied. "But you can talk to me. You both can. I know that I haven't always been Deacon's biggest fan, but I'm your dad and if you're hurting, I want to help you out."

* * *

Rayna was sitting at the kitchen counter when she saw a car pull up behind the house. She got up and walked over to the door.

"Hey, girls!" she greeted Daphne and Maddie as they came in. Daphne gave her a hug. Maddie walked past her and headed toward the stairs.

"Good to see you, too, Maddie," she called after her.

"Hey, Rayna," Teddy said as he walked in and handed her Daphne's backpack.

"Night, Dad," Daphne said, giving Teddy a kiss. "Thanks for the ice cream." She took her backpack and headed toward her room.

"You have a good dinner with the girls?" Rayna asked as she sat back down on a kitchen stool.

"It was okay," Teddy said. "Maddie's awfully quiet."

Rayna nodded. "She's taking it pretty hard. I've tried to talk to her, but it seems like she's just locking herself up."

"I tried to talk to her as well," Teddy responded. "Well, let me know if I can do anything to help. And if you need the girls to stay with me, let me know."

Rayna nodded. "For now I'd like to keep things the way they are, but honestly, I don't know what might come next. We're hoping for some good news, but until then, we just have to wait and see."

Another set of headlights swept across the back of the house as Deacon pulled up in his truck.

"Well, I better get going," Teddy said. "I'll be back to pick them up Saturday morning."

Rayna walked with him to the door, which opened to reveal Deacon just as they got there.

"Deacon," Teddy said as he headed out to his car.

Deacon nodded and walked past the other man and into the house, closing the door.

"I thought I'd timed that a little bit better," Deacon said as he walked over and dropped his overnight bag on the floor near the kitchen island.

"Based on some evidence from Daphne, it looks like they took a detour for ice cream," Rayna replied. "So, you brought a bag?"

Deacon shrugged. "Wasn't totally sure what I was coming over for, so thought I'd grab a couple

things."

"Maybe I should clear out a drawer for you," she offered as she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Maybe you should," Deacon answered.

* * *

 _Thanks to everyone who has been reading the story and especially for the reviews. They are so appreciated!_


	7. Chapter 7

The credits were rolling up the screen as Rayna nudged Deacon.

"Huh?" he said as he struggled to open his eyes and started to sit up from where he'd been laying on the couch.

"You missed the end," Rayna explained as she snuggled in next to him. "It was good. They found the dog."

"Huh," Deacon said again. "How much did a miss?"

Rayna nodded. "About an hour. But I wanted to see the end, and besides, you looked really comfortable there. So, you staying or going home?"

Deacon sighed. "I should probably go, but staying also sounds really nice."

Rayna laid her head on his shoulder. "Stay here. I like having you in my bed. Helps me sleep."

He looked down at her. "You make a good point."

Rayna's phone buzzed and she looked at it.

"Anything important?" Deacon asked.

"No...just…" Rayna started.

Deacon shifted next to her. "What's up."

"Oh, it's just this event tomorrow night. Juliette was scheduled, then Sadie, so then I offered to fill in and I just hate to cancel on them but…"

"Then don't," Deacon responded. "What is it?"

"It's for the Women's Center, to support their post rehab housing program. I'm supposed to do a couple of songs."

"You should do it, Ray. Good cause and besides, you've gotta be gettin' sick of sittin' around with me all the time."

Rayna slapped him lightly on the leg. "I am not sick of you, not one bit." She chewed her lip for a moment. "I have a better idea. Why don't you come with me."

Deacon shook his head. "I don't think so. I haven't...I haven't really played since Memphis and all this started."

"You played with us at the Opry," Rayna pointed out. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"That was special," Deacon responded, his voice quiet.

"I miss making music with you," Rayna replied. "It's been a long time, Deacon. I miss having you next to me on stage. It's not the same without you."

Deacon didn't reply.

"What's the matter, babe?" she asked.

"A couple of things," he replied.

She leaned against him. "Tell me."

Deacon smoothed his hand down her hair. "I mean, a big part of it is just being worried about being out there, maybe being sick. Folks figuring out what's going on. I just don't want people looking at me, knowing that I'm dying."

"And the other," Rayna said. "Cause I get that one, even though I'm not willing to talk about you dying."

Deacon was quiet again. He sighed, then started. "I feel a little stupid about this one, cause of everything that's going on, but and I love singing with you, but Ray, if I kick this...I'm not sure I want to be a side man anymore."

Rayna slipped from his arms and turned so that she was facing him. "Well, that's the best thing I've heard I've heard in a long time. I don't want a side man. I'm happy to be beside you, but as a partner, in life, on the stage. I want us to be on equal footing, Deacon."

"Hasn't always been that way, Ray," he replied.

She slid her hand up along his face. "I know, babe."

He leaned in and began to kiss her, pressing her back against the couch. His hand slid up under her blouse and around her breast.

"Oh god," she sighed as her hands slid down across his back. She moved to the button on his jeans.

"Ray," he said, quietly as he eased back. "Let's go upstairs."

* * *

She led him up the stairs, into her bedroom and over to the bed. He sat down on the edge and she reached down and slowly unbuttoned the flannel shirt he wore. Her hands eased the sleeves down his arms, first the right, then the left.

She took his hand up to her mouth and kissed it, then lowering his hand, she moved closer, pressing her lips to his.

Deacon slid back onto the bed and she followed him. Her hands moved back to the button on his jeans and this time she undid it and lowered the zipper. She kneeled over him, sliding the denim from his legs, leaving him mostly bare in front of her.

She kneeled back, resting on his thighs. His fingers worked their way down her blouse, undoing each button. She slid her arms from the sleeves and sat facing him. His hands moved across her smooth skin, up and quickly found the clasp on her bra.

She moved down against him, her hands moving across his chest, her lips searching for and finding his own. She felt him grow against her and her hands dropped lower, finishing undressing him.

"Ray," he panted. She loosened her own pants and slid them off, their bodies pressed against each other with an urgency. Over the years, their love making had been sometimes sweet, sometimes rough, but tonight there was a sense of desperation, of fear, of the need to make up for all that they had lost, of everything they might still lose.

* * *

The next morning, as the light began to creep into Rayna's room, Deacon found himself watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful.

It was so hard. He knew she didn't want to talk about the possibility of him dying, but he had to think about it. He was starting to feel it. His body was changing. The day before, when he was putting his things together to come over to her house, he had to stop, sit down and just wait. He just didn't have the energy to do it, to walk to the truck, to drive across town.

And his head wasn't as clear. He didn't want to perform with her for the reasons he said, but he also wasn't totally sure he could do it, that he could remember the words. They just didn't come to him like they always had.

It was like the years covered up with the fog of his drinking. And he hated it.

"Hey," Rayna said, a smile crossing her face. "You're here. In my bed. In the morning."

"I am," Deacon replied. "I like being here. With you."

Rayna moved next to him, her arm lightly moving across his chest. "I want you to know, I was serious last night-I want you beside me making music now, not as my band leader."

Deacon nodded. "It's gonna be different now, you get that, right?"

"I do," Rayna replied. She slid her hand down his body, feeling him respond to her. She had missed this-his sensuality, the way he made her feel. She'd never felt the passion she felt for Deacon with any of the other men in her life.

"God, I just...I ache for you," she sighed.

Deacon slid his hands around her and pulled her close to him, first slowly, then urgently, joining her.

He wanted to be with every part of her, to feel as alive as possible, to hold all of this as close as he could.

For as long as he possibly could.

* * *

"Yes, Bucky, I understand and I'm gonna be there," Rayna said into the phone as Deacon started the coffee maker. "I'll come do the sound check and...no, just me. Can you see if Buddy or Colin can...okay, sounds good."

She ended the call and set the phone down.

"Ray, I think you should probably tell him what's going on," Deacon said as he turned back from the counter to face her. "I know it's been hard trying to keep him at arm's length about all of this and well, he's probably gonna have to cover for you at some point."

Rayna came over and pulled him close to her. "Thanks, babe and you know, Bucky...he's the soul of discretion. I'll talk to him this afternoon at the venue."

"That's good," Deacon replied, giving her a quick kiss. "I'm gonna head home. I've got a couple of things I want to take care of as well."

"Am I gonna see you tonight?" she asked as she stepped back and pulled a coffee cup from the cupboard and filled it.

Deacon shrugged. "I'm not sure. Can I let you know, later?"

"Of course," Rayna responded. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me, Deacon."

"Deacon!"

They turned at the sound of Daphne's greeting.

"Morning, honey," Rayna said as she went over to hug her daughter. "Did you have fun with your dad last night?"

Daphne sat down on the stool at the kitchen island. "It was fun. Maddie was in a mood, though. Again."

"Give her some space," Deacon replied. "Everyone handles this kind of stuff in their own way."

"I know," Daphne replied. "She's just…"

"Just give her a break, Daph," Rayna admonished. "You want some breakfast?"

Deacon picked up his messenger bag and grabbed his coat from the counter. "Okay, I'll see y'all later."

Rayna gave him a kiss. "I'll call you later."

Deacon waved to Daphne and headed out the door.

"So, what's on your schedule today?" Rayna asked as the kitchen door closed.

"Soccer practice," Daphne answered.

"Was that Deacon?" Maddie asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Did he stay here last night?"

"He did," Rayna replied as she pulled two bowls from the cupboard and set them on the counter. "You had already gone to bed when he got here."

"Oh," Maddie replied. She walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a box of cereal. She headed toward the refrigerator and then stopped. "Why'd he leave so fast this morning?"

"He had to get home," Rayna explained. "I'm sure he would have waited if he'd known you were coming down."

Maddie didn't answer, busying herself with the cereal and milk.

"Talk to him, Maddie. Tell him how you're feeling," Rayna suggested. "It might help both of you."

"Can I sleep over at Chloe's on Friday night, too?" Maddie asked. "Our project is due on Monday and we haven't even really started."

Rayna nodded. Give her space. That's what Deacon said. So space she would give.

* * *

"Sounds good," Bucky said as he walked up to the stage where Rayna and the band were finishing up her sound check. "No Deacon?"

"No, not this time." Rayna stepped to the edge of the stage. "Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure," Bucky replied.

She followed him backstage and into the small dressing room they'd set up for her to use that night. She sat down on the couch and Bucky leaned against the counter where her hair and makeup supplies had been set up.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Sorry I've been so off my game," Rayna started. "Uh...Deacon's got some personal stuff going on."

"Anything serious?" Bucky asked, a look of concern crossing his face.

Rayna sighed and looked over at him, shaking her head. "Yeah, it's pretty serious. He...he has cancer."

Bucky moved over and sat down next to her. "Oh, Ray. Is it...is it bad?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty bad. It's...it's liver cancer. He's on a transplant list."

"Oh god, Rayna." He took her hand. "I'm really, really sorry to hear that. Do you...do you want to cancel this? Maybe I can get Layla…"

"No, I want to do this," Rayna replied, quickly. "But, I just feel like I need to be with him, with the girls. They're taking it hard and he's...he's trying to be brave, but Bucky, it's just so damned unfair."

"You said it's his liver?"

Rayna nodded again. "He...I guess there was cirrhosis, it's related to the drinking, ironically or not." She choked back a laugh, then started crying.

"I'm so sorry, honey," he said as he took her into his arms. "Anything...I'll do anything you need."

* * *

Deacon walked into the hotel and headed toward the ballroom. He could hear Rayna singing "This Time" and smiled. It was the last song they'd written together. Who knew if there would be any more.

He nodded at the woman at the registration table and asked if he could go stand in the back. She recognized him and told him to go right ahead.

He slipped into the back of the room. As always, she looked so beautiful.

"Thanks, y'all. You're so sweet," Rayna said as she stepped toward the front of the stage. "This next one is an old one, but one that comes from my heart tonight."

The opening chords of the next song started and then she began to sing.

 _Turn the light off, go to bed  
_ _Tell me all about the day you had  
_ _Lay beside me, it's time to rest  
_ _You can close your eyes, you've done your best_

 _Let me be your sanctuary  
_ _Let me be your safe place to fall  
_ _I can take away your worries  
_ _The refuge from it all_

Deacon stood in the dark, his eyes fixed on her and the music sweeping over him.

 _All this time  
_ _We have together  
_ _Is our shelter from the rain  
_ _I will share the weight you carry_

 _Let me be your sanctuary  
_ _We have weathered through the storms  
_ _Taking comfort in each other's arms  
_ _When the dark clouds come again  
_ _I will lift you up and take you in_

It took everything for him to not go up to her on the stage, to take her in his arms, but at the same time his feet were rooted to the floor.

 _Let me be your sanctuary  
_ _Let me be your safe place to fall  
_ _I can take away your worries  
_ _The refuge from it all_

 _Oh, this time  
_ _We have together  
_ _Is our shelter from the rain  
_

 _I will share the weight you carry  
_ _Let me be your sanctuary  
_ _I will share this weight you carry  
_ _Let me be your sanctuary_

The audience burst into applause as they stood to their feet. He watched as she accepted their acknowledgment and then before the lights came up, slipped back out of the room and headed for his truck.

* * *

He was sitting on on a lounge chair next to the pool when she pulled up in front of her garage an hour later. He set his journal down as she came up the walk.

"Hey," she said as she approached him.

He stood up and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "Thank you, babe."

She looked up at him. "For what?"

"For being you, for being here, for being my sanctuary," he said, pulling her closer.

"Always, babe. Always."


	8. Chapter 8

_**The site was a little wonky earlier this week...so if you didn't get a chance to read Chapter 7 yet, please take a minute to go back and give it a read. Thanks so much for all of the follows, favorites and reviews...it's been really wonderful to hear what you think of the story. - RW**_

* * *

"I wish we could go up to the cabin this weekend," Deacon said as he and Rayna lay in her bed the next morning, his arm pulling her close to him.

"I can probably make that work," she replied. "The girls both have plans on Saturday night or maybe we should take them up there...you said Maddie loves fishing now and I'm sure Daphne would enjoy being there."

Deacon sighed and rolled onto his back. "Actually, I shouldn't have even gone up there the night of the Opry show. The cell service is so spotty and it's further than I'm supposed to be away from the hospital in case they find a donor."

Rayna rolled on her side, propped up on her elbow facing him. "Then why'd you go up there?"

Deacon shrugged. "I wasn't completely in my right mind at that point. Remember."

She nodded. "Yes, I do. So, if we can't get away to the cabin, then we need to plan something here."

"Actually, I do have something I'd like to do," Deacon replied as he trailed his finger down her arm. "Something I've been thinking about."

"What's that?" Rayna asked.

"I've got some songs I'd like to record, ones I was playing on Luke's tour, things I've written that I didn't include at the Bluebird show."

Rayna smiled. "Well, I do happen to own a record label, so I might be able to find you some studio space."

"Too bad you haven't gotten that little home studio built yet," Deacon said, smiling. "It'd be pretty awesome to just be able to go downstairs and work on a record."

"Sounds like maybe you're getting used to this high falutin' Belle Meade lifestyle," she teased him.

He turned back on his side, facing her. "Maybe I am."

* * *

"Big plans for this weekend?" Deacon asked Maddie as he flipped a pancake on the griddle on the kitchen island.

"Not really," she replied as she kept her eyes focused on her phone. "Just a birthday party."

"I've got some plans," Deacon offered. "Decided I should get in the studio and work on some of the stuff I've been writing, get some of it recorded. I'm thinking about recording 'Believing'. Think you'd come sing with me on it?"

Maddie kept looking at her phone and didn't reply.

"Hey," Deacon said.

She looked up at him. "What?"

He stood there for a moment. "Nothin'. Well, I'd be happy to have you singin' with me if you have the time."

"I'll sing with you," Daphne offered as she came into the kitchen.

"Well, that is an excellent offer," Deacon replied. "You want some pancakes?"

"Definitely," Daphne replied as Maddie remained silent, again.

* * *

"Okay, so you do you have everything you need?" Rayna asked as she pulled up in front of the girls' school. "Y'all have a busy agenda this weekend."

"Got it," Daphne replied as she reached for her backpack and duffel bag.

"Deacon and I are going to be recording this weekend, but we're in town and have our phones if you need anything. You've got your sleepover tonight, then your Dad will pick you up and he'll get you to the birthday party tomorrow. I'll be there to pick you up on Sunday.

"Maddie?" Rayna said, turning to her older daughter.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Rayna said as she reached over to touch her arm.

Maddie responded by opening the car door and getting out. "Bye, Mom."

Rayna sat watching as the girls walked away from the car. She felt a little bit of relief at the thought of being able to focus solely on Deacon for the next couple of days, but at the same time, it pained her so much to see Maddie struggling this way. She needed to figure out how to help her daughter. Trouble was, Maddie was about as forth-coming with her feelings as her father. In the argument of nature vs. nurture, nature definitely won out on this one.

* * *

Deacon stuck the key in the lock in his front door and pushed it open. He dropped his bag on the floor and headed straight to the bathroom off his bedroom. He stood there, leaning against the sink when he heard a tap on the door.

"Deacon?" Scarlett said. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a…" his voice trailed off as he turned and was sick.

"I'm coming in, okay?" Scarlett asked. She waited a moment and came in to find Deacon sitting on the tile floor.

"Not feeling so great?" she asked as she filled a cup with water and handed it to him.

He nodded and took the cup from her.

"Sip it slowly," she instructed as she stood next to him.

Deacon took a couple of small sips and handed it back to her. "Let's not tell Rayna about this, okay?"

"You sure?" Scarlett asked. "I thought you were being open with her about all of this." She sat down next to him on the floor. "She'd want to know what's going on with you."

"And she's already worrying too much as it is. I'm gonna take it easy today, lay low here, see if I can't get to feelin' a little bit better."

"Do you want me to call Caleb? See if there's anything they can do to settle your stomach?" Scarlett asked.

Deacon shook his head. "Nah, it's really not that bad, just hit me when I was gettin' off the highway. Glad I didn't puke in the truck, I guess."

"How about you get cleaned up and I'll go put some fresh sheets on your bed," Scarlett suggested. "Lay down and I'll check back in with you in a few hours and if it's not better then, I'll call and see if they have any recommendations."

"Sounds good," Deacon replied. He started to get up, then sank down again. Scarlett stuck her hand out. He looked at it for a moment, then took it and let her help him up.

"Okay, then," Scarlett said as she backed out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She headed down the hall to the linen closet for clean sheets and pillowcases. She opened the closet, paused, then pulled her phone out and scrolled to Caleb's name in her contact list. Her finger hovered, then she connected the call.

"Hey, nice surprise," he said as he answered the phone. "You're still coming over for lunch, right?"

"I'm not sure," Scarlett answered. "Deacon got sick when he got home from Rayna's this morning. He's taking a shower now but I want to stick around and make sure everything's okay."

"Nauseous or something else?" Caleb asked. "And just this morning?"

"He was sick first thing when he got back, but just that once and from what he said, just this morning. Should we be worried?"

"Some rest is probably in order. His body is working pretty hard right now with his liver not functioning as it should be. Try to get him to drink something, eat something light and let me know if he's sick again."

"Okay," Scarlett replied. "Can I take a raincheck on lunch?"

"I have a better idea," Caleb replied. "I'll make a housecall-two birds, one stone."

"Thank you," Scarlett said and she ended the call. She gathered up the linens and headed back toward Deacon's bedroom. She quickly stripped the sheets and remade the bed. She pulled the blinds, darkening the room and then headed to the kitchen to fill a glass with ginger ale.

* * *

The door was closed when she returned, so she tapped on it and after Deacon's acknowledgement, pushed it open.

"I brought you this," she said, handing him the ginger ale. "You're supposed to make sure you keep some fluids in you and maybe try to eat something a little bit later."

"Doctor's orders?" Deacon asked, smiling at her. "You didn't need to call him over a little puking."

Scarlett sat down at the edge of the bed. "I called him because we have plans later and while I'm not going to hover over you, I wasn't going to go running off, not knowing if you were a little bit sick or a lot. So there."

"Okay," Deacon replied. He pulled the covers back up over him. "Thanks for the fresh sheets. I'm just gonna rest here for a while, okay?"

"I'll just be out here working on some stuff, if you need me," she responded, got up and headed back out into the living room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Rayna checked her phone again to see if Deacon had responded to her text about meeting for lunch. No response. For as long as he'd resisted texting, he had been much better about responding in the past year or so.

She started to call him, but decided instead to turn the car away from the office and head toward East Nashville to his house.

* * *

Rayna parked in front of Deacon's bungalow and walked up to the door. She was about to knock when she noticed Scarlett was sitting on the couch, so she turned the knob and eased the door open.

"Hey, didn't think I'd find you here," Rayna said as she walked in. "How you been, girl?"

Scarlett got up from the couch and walked over to give Rayna a hug. "I'm good...trying to get a few things done before we head back out on the road at the end of the month."

"How was it being on stage again?" Rayna asked.

Scarlett smiled and sighed. "Wonderful, frightening...it was good to do it with people I trust and love like Gunnar and Avery."

"Speaking of which, how's that going?" Rayna said, smiling back at her. "That's a lot of history on the stage together."

"Good," Scarlett replied. "I'm...I'm kinda seeing someone now."

"Oh, really," Rayna replied. "Tell me more?"

"Uh…" Scarlett stammered.

"It's fine," Rayna responded. "So, where's your uncle? I texted him to see if he wanted to meet for lunch, but no response."

Scarlett walked back to the couch and sat down. "He's in his room, resting."

Rayna followed her into the living room and sat down across from her. "Is everything okay? He seemed fine when he left this morning."

Scarlett looked wistfully at Rayna and sighed. "He didn't want you to know he was sick this morning, asked me not to tell you."

"Sick how," Rayna responded, her voice laced with concern. "Did you call Dr. Rand?"

Scarlett nodded. "I did speak to him this morning. He said we should make sure Deacon was drinking fluids and eating something. He was nauseous, got sick when he got home. I checked on him a while ago and he was asleep."

There was a knock at the door. Scarlett and Rayna both looked over to see Deacon's doctor standing on the porch.

"Oh, that's him now," Scarlett said, her voice sounding nervous. She got up and went over to the door.

Caleb walked in with a bag from Mitchell Delicatessen. "How's the patient?" he asked as he set the bag down on the table.

"Uh, Rayna, this is Dr. Caleb Rand, Deacon's doctor," Scarlett stammered.

"We've met, at his office," Rayna said as she shook the doctor's name. "I'm impressed, house calls are one thing, but I don't think I know any doctors who bring lunch with them."

Scarlett blushed. "Uh, so we were supposed to be going out for lunch, but Deacon was sick, so Caleb, I mean, Dr. Rand…"

"Oh," Rayna interjected. She looked at Scarlett and the doctor. "Oh...well, you two should go off and have your lunch. There's a couple of nice parks right around here, or go down to the bridge or...I'll stay here and wait until Deacon wakes up."

Scarlett smiled. "Are you sure?"

"Let's do that," Caleb replied. "And when I drop you off, I can check in on Deacon and make sure everything's okay."

"Okay, you two get going now," Rayna said, holding the door open. She stood there as Scarlett and Caleb headed to the doctor's car.

After closing the door, she stood in the living room for a moment, then headed down the hallway and eased the door open to Deacon's room.

The room was dark with the shades pulled, but she could see his sleeping form in the bed. She crossed over to the bed, slid her shoes off and laid down on the bed next to him on top of the covers.

She could hear him breathing evenly, so she rolled on her side and curled around him, her arm slung over his body.

And then they both slept.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Rayna woke up a couple of hours later to find the other side of the bed empty. She switched on the bedside lamp and looked around the room. The door to the bathroom was open. She sat on the edge of the bed, stretched her arms and then pulled on her shoes and headed out into the living room.

"There you are," she said as she walked over to where Deacon sat at the table and gave him a kiss. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," he replied. "And Scarlett made me some soup. Do you want some? It's on the stove."

She went into the kitchen and fixed a bowl of soup from the pot on the stove, then sat down next to him.

"What are you working on?" she asked.

He pulled his glasses off and shook his head. "Just thinking about what I might want to record, if we did that."

"What are you thinking?" she replied. "How many did you do at the Bluebird? Would you repeat any of them for a studio sound?"

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I would like to record 'Believing' with Maddie if she'll do it."

"Well, since I have yet to get that girl out of a recording studio when she's had a chance, I think she'll do it," Rayna replied.

Deacon shot her a dark look.

"What?" she asked.

"Ray, come on. She barely looks at me, barely talks to me…"

"Okay, what else," Rayna replied. She pulled the list over and scanned it. "I think you're missing one on here."

"Yeah?" Deacon pulled the list back and slipped his glasses back on to look at it. "Which one?"

"Didn't you write a song for me recently?" she asked. "Our daughter told me all about it."

Deacon looked at her and shook his head. "Oh, you mean the song I wrote for you the night you dumped me for Wheeler? I'm not singing that song."

"Really?" Rayna asked. She got up and went over to her purse, pulling her phone out. "You're not going to sing this one?" She pressed play and the sounds of him playing 'I Know How to Love You Now' at the Bluebird came out of the tinny speakers in her phone. "Cause I've had this track on my phone for six months and I wouldn't mind something that sounds a little bit better."

"How'd you get that?" Deacon asked. "Maddie give it to you?"

"I have my ways," Rayna said, smiling at him. "I love that song, but it's also hard for me to hear it. Makes me think about what could have been...if I'd made a different choice, all of these months we could have had together."

Deacon was quiet. Rayna reached over and took his hands in hers. "I feel like maybe we need to talk about all of that."

"Why?" Deacon asked. "Why spend the time we have now reliving all the mistakes and things we done wrong? That isn't how I want to spend my time, whatever time I have left."

Rayna tightened her hand and his. He was down today. More than the others, more introspective. She could see it on him and hear it in his voice.

"Because I'm planning to be with you for a long time," Rayna replied. "And I might just need to talk about some of that stuff, because I'm sorry and I know I can't go back and change it, but if we're only here for this short period of time, it kills me, Deacon, that I chose to give up a single moment without you. And that's what I have to live with...right now."

She started to cry and he moved to her, kneeling down, taking her in his arms.

"It's okay, baby," he said, holding her close. "It's okay."

"I'm just afraid that it won't be. I know I'm not supposed to say that," she cried.

Deacon held her. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay."

"Why did I do that? Why did I spend all that time…."

"We all made choices, Ray," he said, trying to soothe her. "We all did."

"You didn't," she replied. "You always loved me, you always waited."

Deacon eased back on his heels. "Ray, I made choices that meant we couldn't be together, that we didn't raise our daughter together, that gave me this disease. You can't put that all on yourself."

She reached down, smoothing her hand across his face, wiping away the tears that were falling from his eyes.

Deacon stood up and pulled her into his arms. "It's gonna be okay, baby. It's gonna be okay."

* * *

"Hey, honey," Teddy said as he walked into Maddie's room. "Daphne and I are going out for lunch, do you want to come?"

Maddie was sitting on her bed with her guitar. "I think I'm gonna just stay here, is that okay?"

Teddy came over and sat down on the edge of the bed near her. "You working on something special?"

Maddie shrugged. "Maybe."

"You know you can talk to me, don't you?" Teddy said as he reached up to smooth Maddie's hair. "Even if you need to talk about Deacon and what's happening."

Tears started to form in Maddie's eyes. "That doesn't seem fair to you."

Teddy took her into his arms. "Oh, honey, none of this is fair, but it kills me to see you in so much pain."

He held her as she cried, his hand moving slowly across her back, trying to soothe her.

"I just don't know what to do or say," she choked out. "And he asked me to come record our song and I can't do it."

Teddy sat back. "Of course you can, sweetie. And, Maddie, making music, with Deacon, that's how you first got to know one another. Maybe it can be somewhere that you can start figuring out how to deal with this."

"I don't know…" Maddie stammered.

Teddy took in a deep breath and let it out. "You don't know this, because he died before you were born, but my dad was sick. And my dad used to drink too much, which is probably why I've had a hard time with Deacon. I knew he was sick, that I wouldn't have much time with him, but I was stubborn, and I didn't go see him, didn't tell him how I felt."

"That you were mad at him, about drinking?" Maddie asked, wiping away her tears.

Teddy shook his head. "No, that I loved him-in spite of everything. That I remembered when I was little and he took me to baseball games and how we'd go up in the mountains and camp. I let my bitterness and resentment get in the way of that. And I'm sorry for that and I regret it.

"It's not the same with you and Deacon, but if you don't figure out how to talk to him, you'll end up like I did, with things you wanted to say and you didn't have a chance to do it. Please don't do that to yourself, Maddie."

Maddie sat silent for a moment, then stood up from the bed, picking up her guitar. "Dad, would you take me somewhere?"

* * *

"Thanks for doing this," Rayna said to Avery as he sat at the sound board in the studio. "I know things have to be busy at home right now with the new baby."

"It's been intense," Avery replied. "But Emily was able to come over this afternoon and hopefully Juliette and the baby will get some sleep. Nobody is on a regular schedule right now."

"She'll get there...it just takes babies, and moms, a little while," Rayna said. "So, I think Deacon has a plan, but you'll want to check in with him."

"He called me yesterday and I think we have things planned out to try to get three tracks done, if we can. He seemed real anxious to do this, it kind of surprised me," Avery said, looking over at Rayna.

"Well, you know, Deacon...once he gets his mind set on something, he just kinda goes for it," Rayna explained. "I'm gonna go in there and see how he's doing."

She headed into the sound booth where Deacon was tuning his guitar. "You all set?" she asked.

He looked up at her and smiled. "I think so. I've got a new version of 'Like New' I'd like to lay down and a couple of others. I want to get the vocals and my guitar tracks done and then I've got a couple of people lined up to do the rest of the instrumentals."

"Is it okay if I stick around?" she asked. "I promise I'll sit out by the board and not bother anything."

Deacon leaned in and kissed her. "Of course, babe."

"And you're going to stop if you need to?" she admonished.

He chuckled and nodded. "Of course, but I'm feelin' good, Ray. Don't worry."

"Okay, well, I'm going back out there," she said as she headed back out of the booth.

* * *

"Do you want us to come with you?" Teddy asked as they pulled up in front of the recording studio.

"No, I'm okay," Maddie said as she released her seat belt. "I'll text you when I'm done."

"You're doing a good thing, here, honey," Teddy said. "Send me an update later and Daphne and I can swing back by later."

Maddie got out of Teddy's car and went around to the back seat to get her guitar.

"Break a leg," Daphne said as she pulled the guitar out.

"Thanks, Daph," Maddie replied.

She walked up to the door and opened it. She'd been here once before when her mom was working on her last album. She stopped at the reception desk where a young man sat.

"I'm looking for Deacon Claybourne," she said.

The receptionist pointed down the hall, telling her they were in Studio C. She headed that way, stopping outside the studio. She could do this. Her dad has asked her and she could do this.

She pushed the door open and found her mom and Avery in the small room outside the booth.

"Hey, honey," her mom said as she got up and came over to Maddie. "You're dad's gonna be really happy to see you here."

Maddie stood there as Deacon finished singing through the last verse of 'Like New'. When he finished, Avery pressed the button so he could talk to Deacon.

"Hey, shall we take a break so we can do a new set-up?"

Deacon looked up and saw Maddie through the window. "Definitely. Sounds good." He set his guitar down and walked out to greet Maddie.

"Hey, honey," he said, hugging her. "Thanks so much for coming. Wouldn'ta been the same without you."

Maddie stood there awkwardly, holding her guitar.

"Well, let's go in and get you set up," Rayna said. She opened the door and they walked in the booth together. Avery brought in a second microphone and stand and set it up next to Deacon's.

"Okay, I'll grab some headphones and then we should be ready to do a run-through," Avery said.

"You want to run the song once before he comes back?" Deacon asked.

Maddie nodded as she adjusted her guitar strap.

"Okay," Deacon replied. He picked up his guitar and began to play.

Maddie started with the first line.

 _I don't remember how I got here  
When my rose coloured glasses disappeared_

Deacon joined in, smiling at her.

 _Sometimes my fingers, they can lose touch  
Start letting go of everything I love_

Their voices joined together on the chorus.

 _When I get the feeling  
That my prayers have hit the ceiling  
And those darker days  
When my faith has lost all meaning  
You keep me believing_

Maddie smiled at Deacon as she moved into the second stanza.

 _My fears are safe here, held in your hand  
When I'm broken, you put me back together again_

And again, Deacon's deep voice matched hers.

 _All that I once was,  
All I could be,  
When I've forgotten  
Baby you remind me_

* * *

Rayna looked up at the sound of tapping on the door. Teddy and Daphne stood outside. She waved them to come in.

"Hey," she said, greeting them, giving Daphne a hug. "You're just in time to hear them finishing up the track.

Rayna, Teddy and Daphne watched as Deacon and Maddie went back over different spots in the song, trying slight variations.

"Thank you," Rayna said softly to Teddy.

He looked at her and nodded.

Avery looked down at the board one more time and then pressed the mic button. "Okay, I think that's a wrap on that one."

Deacon nodded. "Hey, tell Rayna and Daphne to come in here a minute, would ya?"

"Go ahead, sweetheart," Teddy said as Daphne looked at him, expectantly.

She followed Rayna into the sound booth. Teddy stood there watching the four of them talking, Rayna shaking her head and laughing. Now Maddie and Daphne were laughing as well.

"Hey, I'm gonna drop the girls' stuff off at the reception desk and head home. Will you let Rayna know?" Teddy asked Avery.

"Sure, man," Avery replied. "You don't want to stay and listen?"

"No, I've already heard this one." Teddy replied. "Thanks."

The door to the studio closed and Avery turned back to the booth. He adjusted his headphones and heard Deacon say, " Okay, let's do it just like we did at Fort Campbell."

Rayna started the first verse.

 _Sittin' here tonight  
By the fire light  
It reminds me I already have  
More than I should_

The girls took over on the next verse.

 _I don't need fame  
No one to know my name  
At the end of the day, Lord I pray  
I have a life that's good_

Deacon joined Rayna.

 _Two arms around me  
Heaven to ground me  
And a family that always calls me home_

The girls added their harmony.

 _Four wheels to get there  
Enough love to share  
And a sweet, sweet, sweet song_

 _At the end of the day  
Lord I pray  
I have a life that's good_

* * *

Rayna and Daphne walked headed out of the studio while Deacon waited for Maddie to put her guitar back in the case.

"Thank you, sweetie," he said to her. "I just, I just needed to have these songs, these moments captured."

"In case you aren't here?" Maddie asked as she kneeled in front of her guitar case, turning from the case on the floor to look at him.

"We don't know what the future holds for any of us, but yes, in case I'm not here," Deacon replied. "Okay, let's get going, I know you girls have your own plans tonight and I've got plans with your mom."

"Special plans?" Maddie asked as she stood up.

"Sort of," Deacon replied. "Don't tell her, but I managed to get us tickets to see Loretta Lynn at the Ryman."

"Managed to get tickets?" Maddie teased him. "I'm thinking you have some kind of pull around here."

"Well, I had to use all of it," Deacon replied. "Okay, let's get goin'."

* * *

"Have a fun night and please, get some sleep!" Rayna called as Daphne hopped out of the back seat.

"What a day!" she said as she pulled away from the curb. "I'm thinking I'm ready for a quiet night, some pizza, maybe and…"

"I was thinking maybe we could go out," Deacon interrupted. "See what's happening downtown."

Rayna looked over at him. "Aren't you tired, babe? It's been a full day already."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm feeling good. Let's go."

"Okay," Rayna replied as she changed lanes and headed for Broadway.


	10. Chapter 10

_**There were a couple of chapters posted when the notifications were not working, so check to see if you missed anything! And thank you all for the lovely reviews-I have so appreciated the response to this story - RW**_

* * *

"So, you have something special in mind?" Rayna asked as they crossed the river.

"Yeah," Deacon said, nodding. "I'm thinking dinner at the Southern and then maybe we go to the Ryman."

"Almost makes us sound like tourists," she replied as she exited into downtown.

"Tourists with good taste," Deacon replied. "Besides, we haven't gone out like this for...gosh, well, years."

"Remember that first time we went to the Ryman?" Rayna said, looking over at him while they waited at a red light.

Deacon nodded, slowly. "I do. It was your 21st birthday. Watty took us out for dinner and gave us the tickets."

"My god we were broke back then," Rayna replied, laughing. "I miss a lot of those simpler times, but I do not miss being broke."

"I definitely don't miss being a drunk," Deacon responded. "But I have to admit, I do miss that second apartment we had...with the little balcony."

Rayna pulled up in front of the restaurant. "I fell in love with you in that apartment." She leaned over and kissed him, turning back laughing as the valet opened her door.

They got out of the Escalade and Rayna handed over the keys. Deacon slid his arm around her and they walked up to the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Claybourne, Ms. Jaymes," the hostess said as they came in the door. "I've got your table ready right over here, if you want to follow me."

They walked along the open area of the restaurant past the bar to a booth in the corner.

"My favorite table," Rayna said as she slid into the curved booth. "The best spot in the room to see and not be seen!"

She slid her hand under the table and took Deacon's in her own. "Of course, it's a pretty public place to be. You realize folks will probably see us."

Deacon slid his arm around her and drew her close. "Babe, I want the whole world to know you're mine and I'm yours." He leaned over and kissed her, winking as he drew back after the kiss.

"That's definitely a coming out statement," Rayna replied as she looked over at the table about ten feet away from her. "But I'm okay with it, if you are."

Deacon took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it lightly. "Good, because Rayna, I've never been as happy as when you were next to me."

* * *

When the valet pulled the Escalade up, Deacon opened the passenger door. "Get in, I'll drive over."

He pulled the truck out onto the street, driving down past the Johnny Cash museum and across Broadway. He swung left and into the alley alongside the Ryman.

"You find a new parking lot?" she teased as they pulled up alongside the Mother Church of Country Music.

"Nah, I just cut a better deal with the valet," Deacon said as he put the truck into park, turned on the blinkers and opened his door.

"Hey, Deacon," a young bearded man said as Deacon got out of the Escalade and walked around to open Rayna's door.

"Thanks, Danny," he said as he pulled open the stage door for Rayna.

"Not quite like queueing up in the old days," Rayna said as they walked into the backstage hall.

"It seemed like this would be easier," Deacon replied. "But we do actually have some seats down on the floor tonight."

* * *

They walked down the hall, greeting familiar faces as they went.

"Don't tell me that's Deacon and Rayna."

They both stopped at the sound of the headliner's Eastern Kentucky twang.

Rayna smiled and stepped forward, giving Loretta a big hug. "You look gorgeous as always," she said.

"I'm so glad to see you two here tonight...together," Loretta Lynn replied. "Been a long time comin'."

"Very true," Rayna said, smiling. She looked back at Deacon and looped her arm in his. "But I'm not letting him go again."

"Better not," Loretta replied. "I know true love and this is it."

"Y'all have a good show," Rayna said as gave the country star a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be lookin' for you two out there," she replied.

* * *

Rayna leaned into Deacon as the show reached its conclusion.

"Y'all have been a wonderful audience tonight," Loretta said from the stage. "I've got one more. It's a song I wrote for my husband years ago, but tonight I'm sending it out for some dear friends who joined me for this show."

 _I've seen him as he awakens in the morning  
_ _He reaches out his hand and without a word  
_ _As his fingers softly fall upon my face  
_ _He lights the flame of desire and makes me want him._

 _Love is the foundation we lean on and all you need is love to ease your mind.  
_ _It doesn't have to be right to be called love  
_ _When he gives me more lovin' that a lifetime of looking could ever find._

Deacon leaned over and kissed Rayna. "You are my foundation, babe."

* * *

Deacon slid the key into the lock on his front door and opened it, waiting as Rayna walked in past him.

He set his guitar down and pulled her close to him, kissing her deeply. Then, taking her hand, he led her wordlessly to his room.

He switched on the lamp next to his bed, then led her to the bed and had her sit down on the edge. He slowly unbuttoned her blouse, exposing her soft skin. He leaned in and kissed the hollow between her neck and shoulder, then removed his own shirt.

Rayna slid back on the bed, as Deacon slipped off her shoes and loosened her pants. He pulled his own off and joined her on the bed. He moved slowly, kissing her, his hands moving down her body. Her body arched up slightly, affected by his ministrations.

"Babe," he said, his hands touching her breasts, her waist, all over her body.

She reached for him, pulling him close, hungering for every part of him.

"I love you, Deacon," she said as it all rushed over her. "Always and forever."

* * *

She woke up in the middle of the night to find the bed next to her empty. She pulled the blanket around her and walked out into the living room to find Deacon sitting at the table, his journal in front of him.

"Hey, babe, you should get some sleep," she admonished.

"Sorry, I woke up and just couldn't get back to sleep," he responded. "Too much on my mind."

She sat down across from him. "Like what?"

"I don't know, it's just hard to turn off the track of thoughts playing over and over in my mind," he replied. "I'm trying to think about why I started drinking-you know, I can't even really remember when. And I know every time I went to rehab, well, except for that third time, I really did want to get sober. I just can't seem to work out in my head, why I kept drinking, why I drove you off, why I ruined my liver, how I missed out on so many years of Maddie's life."

Rayna moved over next to him. "We gotta figure out how to stop that track," she said, taking his hands in hers. "That doesn't do you any good...not right now, not ever."

Deacon looked up at her, his eyes filled with sadness. "Problem is, I don't think I can shut it off. No matter what I try to do, Ray, it just keeps going round and round."

"Come back to bed with me, babe," she said, standing up and holding out her hand. "You're not going to solve anything out here."

Deacon sat for a moment, then stood up and took her hand. She slid her arm around his waist and they walked slowly back into the bedroom.

Rayna pulled the covers back and Deacon laid down on the bed. He rolled onto his side and she slid in next to him, her body matching the curves of his. She reached up and turned off the lamp on the table.

"Okay, so instead of listening to that old track," she said, "let's make a new one."

She pulled his arm around her. "So, I've been thinking about our life, when we're married and a family, living in the same house. When I wake up every single morning next to you, how we're going to be grandparents, get old together, probably end up playing shows at casinos."

"We're not playing the casino circuit," Deacon responded. "A Vegas residency, maybe or Branson, but I have to draw the line somewhere."

"I hear the Mohegan Sun is nice," Rayna replied. "Okay, so maybe we stay off the gambling boats."

"I wouldn't mind living up at the cabin more of the time," Deacon said. "I mean, after the girls are grown. I always kinda wished I'd spent more time there, but it was also hard to be there without you."

"You didn't take your ladies out there?" she teased.

"No," Deacon replied, quietly. "I never went up there with anybody but you and Maddie." He tightened his arm around her, his hand resting on her breast. "I bought that place for you and I guess I kept it all those years thinking about when we'd be there, like we always dreamed."

"And we will," Rayna replied. "I see us having Christmas up there, Maddie and Daphne with their families, the room filled with love and family, you with gray hair and me, well, without a wrinkle on my face."

Deacon chuckled. "Not one?"

"I have very good skin," she replied. "And a fantastic stylist who is never letting this hair go gray."

"I'll love you when you're old and gray and wrinkly," Deacon said, leaning in for a kiss. "We're going to be awesome old people."

Rayna smiled. "Yes, we are."

* * *

The song is _Love is the Foundation_ , written by William Cody Hall. It was Loretta Lynn's 7th #1 hit, on the charts in 1973. Get well soon, Loretta!


	11. Chapter 11

Deacon sat at the kitchen island in Rayna's kitchen listening to the preliminary tracks that Avery had sent over from the session. It sounded good so far. He was halfway through his duet with Maddie when he heard a knock at the door. He looked up to see Teddy standing there.

"Hey," Deacon said as he opened the door. "Rayna just called, she's on her way back with the girls, something about shoes for a concert."

"Thanks," Teddy said, awkwardly, as he walked into the kitchen. "Is that you with Maddie?"

Deacon looked over at the laptop where the track was still playing. He hit pause to stop the music. "Yeah, she did a great job. Thank you for bringing her...I'm thinking she didn't just come on her own."

"I think she wanted to, she just...it's a lot for her to deal with," Teddy responded, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Deacon offered.

Teddy shook his head. "I'm good, thanks."

Deacon looked down at his phone. "Well, she texted about fifteen minutes ago when they were leaving the mall, so…"

"How are you…how are you feeling?" Teddy asked.

Deacon shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Some days better than others. It all seems pretty unreal, to be honest."

"Yeah," Teddy replied. He looked over at Deacon. "Your dad's gone, right?"

"Yeah," Deacon replied. "Yours?"

"Yep," Teddy answered. "He...he died when, I guess Maddie was about three, before Daphne was born."

"Were you close?"

Teddy shook his head. "No. He...he was a drunk. And not a very nice one. We...well, we didn't have much of a relationship."

"Yeah," Deacon replied. "Me too."

"How old were you?" Teddy asked.

Deacon was quiet for a minute. "I'm not sure. It was after I moved up here, been here for a couple of years, I guess. Maybe 23 or 24?"

"So, you didn't see him before?" Teddy asked.

Deacon shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "No, I hadn't talked to him since before I came up here. He...he was pretty awful. Hit my mom, hit my sister, hit me a few times. I don't know, I guess part of me was glad I got out of there, but another part of me was ashamed I left them there."

"My dad, he got sober, but I just never trusted it," Teddy shared. "He called a few times those last months, but I never...I just couldn't get past all of the other stuff that happened."

Deacon looked over at him and nodded wordlessly.

"But, I felt bad...still do," Teddy continued. "I was really sorry later that I never resolved things with him. I...I told Maddie that. I mean, not all the other stuff, but just that I regretted not being there when it was his time."

Deacon looked over at him. "You're a good dad. You've done a good job raising her up."

Teddy nodded. "You too, Deacon." He looked around the kitchen. "So, are you living here now?"

Deacon shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. "No. Spendin' a lot of time with them, but no."

"Why not?" Teddy asked. "Don't miss out on this, Deacon. You and Rayna...even during the good times, I think I knew that this is how it would play out. Sure, she loved me the best she could, but you are her true love. Don't let any of this other stuff get in your way."

Deacon shrugged. "I'm not sure how the girls would feel about it. This was your home, I just want to make sure they're good with it."

Teddy let out a short laugh. "It hasn't been my home for a long time, Deacon. Hell, Wheeler was practically living here."

"Daddy!"

Teddy turned to see Daphne come through the door and give him a big hug. "Hey, honey. Did you find the shoes you were looking for?"

"Definitely," Daphne replied. "Mom even let me get them with a little bit of heel."

Rayna walked in the door. "Not too much, though."

"I'm sure they'll look great, honey. You and your sister ready to go?" Teddy asked, as Maddie walked in.

"I need to go grab my other backpack," Maddie said. "I'll be right back."

She headed upstairs while Daphne described the plans for her class camp out to Teddy.

"You two have a good chat," Rayna said, her voice low as she came next to Deacon.

"Yeah," Deacon replied. "I think we've come to an understanding about one another."

Rayna leaned in and kissed him. "Just another thing I love about you, Deacon Claybourne."

"Bye, Mom. Bye, Deacon," Daphne said as she went out the door with Teddy.

"See you later, honey," Rayna called after her.

"See you later," Maddie said as she came down.

"Have a good time, honey," Deacon said.

"Thanks," Maddie said, her voice quiet.

Rayna stepped in and gave her a hug. "Have fun with your dad, honey."

They watched as the girls got into Teddy's car and headed down the driveway.

"So, any thoughts on our evening?" Rayna asked.

Deacon held open his arms. "Just come here."

She stepped into his embrace and he pulled her close.

"Mmmm….this feels good," she said as she snuggled into his chest. "I love coming home to find you here."

"I love being here," he replied.

She looked up at him. "Good. Cause that's right where I want you, babe."

* * *

Rayna heard her phone buzz and picked it up. It was Tandy. She looked over at Deacon sleeping on the couch next to her and got up and moved to the kitchen.

"Hey, I finally caught you," her sister said. "It feels like it's been nothing but voicemail and texts for the past couple of weeks. How did the Opry go? Thanks for the awesome photos of the girls. I did listen. Y'all sounded amazing. I really wish I could have been there."

"It went really well. The girls were so good," Rayna replied.

"And Deacon came," Tandy said, her voice trailing off.

"He did," Rayna answered.

"And how was that?" Tandy asked.

Rayna leaned against the kitchen island, trying to decide how to respond.

"It was very special," she finally said.

"Have you seen him since? How are things between you?" Tandy asked.

Rayna paused, trying to decide how to respond.

"Rayna, what's going on?" her sister asked.

"Yes, he's been around," Rayna replied. "He's here right now, actually."

"Oh," Tandy responded. "And how is it?"

"It's been…" her voice caught.

"Rayna, what's wrong?" Tandy asked, her voice serious.

"He's sick, Tandy," Ranya revealed. "Really sick. Cancer. He told me after the Opry."

"Oh, Rayna," Tandy replied. "I'm...I'm sorry. What...what are you doing?"

"We're doing what we can," Rayna answered. She really did not want to go into it with Tandy about the liver transplant. She didn't need to hear her sister say anything about how Deacon had it coming to him. "But, it's very hard."

"Do you need me to come to Nashville? How are the girls?" Tandy asked.

Rayna sighed. "They're doing okay. And I think we're fine now. He might...he might need surgery, but we're not quite sure when that will be. Can I let you know?"

"Of course," Tandy replied. "And...tell Deacon that I'll be thinking about him. I'm thinking about all of you."

Rayna ended the call and stood there in the dark kitchen.

"Who was that?" Deacon asked from the shadows, his voice thick with sleep.

"My sister."

"Oh," Deacon replied.

Rayna crossed over to where he was standing and pulled him into her arms. "She could tell something was wrong, so I told her. But just that you're sick."

"Oh," Deacon repeated.

"Deacon, you don't have to carry this alone. The people we love, the ones who love us...they would want to know."

Deacon moved away from her. "I'm just not ready for that. Can you please understand that?"

She moved back to him, this time coming up behind him, her arms encircling him. "I can respect that. But I just worry you're carrying too much. Let me help you, babe."

Deacon turned around to face her. "You are. You're helping me in the best way anyone can right now."

* * *

Rayna finished putting on her lotion and came back into the bedroom to join Deacon.

"So, how long did you and Teddy have to hang out alone today?" she asked as she pulled back the covers and slid under them.

"I don't know...maybe 15 minutes or so," Deacon replied.

"Sorry about that," she said as she slid down, her head on the pillow.

"No, it was okay. Teddy and me, turns out we have some common history."

Rayna turned on her side, facing him. "What do you mean?"

"Complicated stuff with our dads," he replied.

Rayna nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, different, but in some ways, the same."

"It must have killed him for Maddie to have a drunk for a dad," he responded. "After everything with his dad."

"Honestly, I do think that was part of it," Rayna said. "He never talked about his dad. I never met him, but his mom told me some stories."

"I think he feels pretty bad about not fixing things with his dad before he died," Deacon said, his voice quiet.

"How about you?" she asked, her hand on his arm.

Deacon shook his head. "Nah, I have a lot of regrets in my life, but that isn't one of them."

Rayna moved closer to him, her body alongside his. "I was thinking I'd go over and see Juliette tomorrow. I've got a baby present to take them. Do you want to do with me?"

Deacon stared up at the ceiling. "I don't think so, Ray. I don't think I could handle it."

She slid her hand across his chest. "Okay."

He rolled on his side, facing her. "So, what is going on with Teddy?"

Rayna sat up, her back against the headboard. "We should actually talk about that."

"Yeah?" Deacon replied, rolling back on his side, propping his head up on his arm.

"It started a few weeks ago. I was at the office and got a delivery. It was a diamond necklace from Jeff Fordham. For Maddie."

"Maddie?" Deacon asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"So, I went to see him and he told me that Teddy had signed a contract for Maddie to record with Edgehill."

The smile faded from Deacon's face. "What the hell?"

"Well, clearly, I got her out of it, but getting to the bottom of it, well, Teddy has made some choices lately that just made me realize that he wasn't necessarily the person I thought he was."

"What do you mean?" Deacon asked as he reached over to take Rayna's hand.

"He got into some mess with Jeff Fordham. Who blackmailed him. About being with hookers."

"Teddy?"

Rayna nodded. "Yep, Teddy."

Deacon sat up and pulled her close to him. "Oh, babe. I'm sorry you went through that, that I wasn't there for you, for Maddie."

Rayna stared straight ahead. "So, I told him the girls would be living with me full time, that he needed to get some help."

"Has he?"

Rayna shrugged. "I think so, but I feel like something's up with him. He's acting squirrelly. Teddy's never had much of a poker face."

Deacon shook his head. "I should have been there," he said again. "I've missed so much and…"

"You're here now, babe," she replied. "You're here now."

"But how is Maddie handling it?" he asked. "I know she's been pressin' you about recording, touring and stuff."

Rayna was quiet.

"Ray?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.

"I didn't tell her," she replied. "I didn't want to hurt her with the idea that Teddy would use her that way, but I also knew she'd be disappointed about the contract. But, Deacon, I will not have our daughter working for people like Jeff Fordham."

"No, I get that, but she's going to find out, someday, Ray. It's probably better if it comes from us," Deacon responded.

Rayna looked over at him. "You're probably right. But, not right now, okay?"

Deacon nodded. "Okay."


	12. Chapter 12

Deacon reached over to the other side of the bed, but it was empty. He got up and walked into the bathroom. Rayna wasn't there either.

He walked downstairs, but the house was empty. He pushed open the door but no one was there.

He found himself walking down the street, until he came up to the cemetery. There was a large group of people standing under a large tree. As he walked up, he could see that the group was gathered around an open grave.

He stepped to the edge of the group. He looked over at the row closest to the grave and felt a cold wave wash over him. Rayna, Daphne, Maddie and Scarlett stood there, their heads bowed. His eyes followed theirs to the coffin sitting over the grave and he knew that it must be his body inside the box.

"No," he found himself saying. "No."

He felt an arm on his. "No!"

"Deacon, wake up."

He sat up, a cold sweat dripping down his face. Rayna was holding him.

"Babe, are you okay?" she asked.

He stared at her and shook his head.

"What were you dreaming about?"

Deacon got out of bed and walked over to the window. Rayna got up and followed him, slipping her arms around him.

"What was the dream about, babe?" she asked.

He stared out the window, not answering her.

She leaned her head against his back. "Babe."

"You were at the cemetery," he replied. "I was...I was…"

She turned him to face her. He was crying and she raised her hand up to wipe away his tears. "You're here. You're here with me."

"It was so real, Ray," he said through his tears. "I...I don't want to leave you."

She pulled him close. "You aren't leaving me, you aren't leaving any of us. You're here."

She held him for several minutes, then as he began to relax, led him back to her bed. "C'mon, babe, you need to rest. I'm worried how you're driving yourself."

Deacon laid back down into the bed. "I'm okay, Ray."

She smoothed her hand over his hair, down the edge of his face. "I love you so much, babe." She leaned in and kissed him deeply.

"I don't think I can," Deacon said as she continued to minister to him. She slowed her kisses, finally, resting her head on his chest, lying next to him.

"It's okay," she replied. "I just want to be here, with you. With you in my bed."

* * *

Rayna woke up the next morning. She looked over to find Deacon sound asleep next to her, exhausted after his nightmare the night before. She slid carefully from the bed so as to not disturb him and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey, honey," she greeted Maddie who sat at the kitchen counter with her laptop. "Homework?"

Maddie nodded. "I thought I'd get it done at dad's last night, but he and Daphne wanted to go bowling."

Rayna poured water into the coffee maker and turned back to her daughter. "How are you doing, sweetie? You've been pretty quiet since Deacon told us his news."

Maddie looked up from her computer, a sad look on her face. "I just don't really know what to say to him."

"I don't think there has to be a right thing or a wrong thing," Rayna replied. "He just wants to spend time with you, to play music or write songs. The stuff you used to do."

Maddie shook her head. "I can't, Mom. I'm sorry, I just can't."

"You have to try, Maddie, please. For him. For me," Rayna asked.

Maddie started to cry and Rayna moved over to her, taking her in her arms. "It's okay, honey," she soothed her daughter.

Maddie looked up at her. "Is he going to die?"

Rayna pulled her close to her. "I don't know, honey. I know we're doing everything we can and he wants to live."

"I don't want him to die," Maddie cried.

Rayna pulled her even closer. "Me neither, honey. Me neither."

* * *

Rayna dropped the girls off as school and returned to the house. Deacon's truck was still in the driveway. She opened the door to the kitchen and found it empty, so she headed upstairs to the bedroom.

The bed was empty, but Deacon's boots were at the end of the bed and his clothes lay across the bench.

"Deacon?" she asked as she headed back toward the bathroom.

"Give me a minute," he replied.

She paused, then stepped toward the bathroom. "I'm coming in, babe."

"Ray," he cautioned.

"I'm coming in there," she said again and pushed the door open.

Deacon sat on the floor next to the toilet. His face looked pale. She crossed to him and knelt down.

"Are you okay?" she asked, putting her hand on his arm.

He nodded. "I thought I was going to be sick, but when I came in, I was dizzy. I just...I just sat down, but then I couldn't get up."

"Let me call the doctor," Rayna said. "Make sure this isn't something serious."

"Can you just help me up?" he asked.

She looked at him, then nodded. She moved so she was squatting next to him, her hand under his armpit. "Okay, let me help on this side, and you use the toilet on the other."

He put his hand on the toilet lid and between their efforts, got him standing up again.

"Okay, let's get you back into bed," Rayna said. "Okay?"

Deacon nodded and she helped him back into the bedroom.

Deacon laid back down and she pulled the covers back up over him.

"Do you need something? Are you still feeling sick?" she asked.

Deacon was silent.

"Babe," Rayna started. "Let me call the doctor.

Deacon nodded as Rayna pulled out her phone and dialed Dr. Rand's office.

"He's feeling nauseous," Rayna said as Deacon nodded. "And he's light-headed." She listened for a moment.

"When did you eat last?" she asked him.

Deacon thought for a moment. "Yesterday, uh, afternoon."

Rayna relayed it and then listened again. "Okay, sounds good."

She ended the call. "Do you think you can eat some soup?" she asked.

He nodded again.

"Okay, let's try that and if it doesn't work, then they want us to come in and give you an IV."

"Okay," Deacon answered. He rolled onto his side. "I hate having you see me like this."

Rayna sat down next to him. "You're sick, Deacon. This is going to happen. Let me go get you some soup and then we'll take it from there."

* * *

Rayna was sitting in the family room when Bucky came in.

"Hey, Ray," he said as he came over and sat on the chair across from where she sat on the couch.

"Thanks, Buck," she replied. "I know I was supposed to come in, but Deacon's having a bad day."

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, he's asleep now and I don't think it's anything too serious."

"Good," Bucky replied. "So, I've got a few more demos for you to listen to if you have time and I wanted to talk to you about the Triple Xs."

Rayna reached to pull over the stack of demos Bucky had pulled out of his bag. "Gunnar and Scarlett, huh?"

"And Avery Barkley," Bucky replied. "They're getting some great reviews from that short tour they did and I think we should try to sign them."

"Sounds good to me," Rayna said as she pulled her legs up underneath her. "I know how magical Scarlett can be, when she's on her game."

"Well, this seems like a better set-up for her," Bucky replied. "She's been great on stage, dealt with some stuff on social media and came out fighting at their Chicago show."

"Sounds great," Rayna said. "I'll take a listen to the others and let you know what I think."

Bucky stood up. "And call me, if you need anything, Ray. Anything at all."

* * *

Deacon woke up in the quiet room and reached for his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and dialed.

"Hey, Coleman," he said when the call connected. "Got your message about being in town. I'm hoping maybe we could meet...at my house."

"Sure, Deacon," Coleman replied. "I'm headed back first thing in the morning. Would it work to meet in an hour or so?"

Deacon took in a deep breathe. "Yeah, I'll see you there."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Rayna said as Deacon walked into the kitchen holding his overnight bag.

"I'm going home for a bit," he replied.

She got up from the couch and came over. "I think you should stay here."

Deacon shook his head. "I'm feelin' a lot better, Ray, and I gotta do some stuff. I'll call you tonight, okay?"

She looked at him, then nodded. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," he replied, then leaned in to kiss her. "Thanks for taking such good care of me, babe."

* * *

Coleman was sitting on Deacon's porch when he drove up. He got out of the truck and headed up the sidewalk.

"Deacon, don't take this the wrong way, but you look like hell," Coleman said as Deacon walked slowly onto the porch. He got up and walked toward the door.

Deacon crossed to him and gave him a hug. "Well, I gotta be honest, I've been better."

Deacon unlocked the door and they walked in. He dropped his bag next to the door and went directly to the couch and sat down.

Coleman closed the door and went over to take a seat across from Deacon. "You gonna tell me what's going on?"

Deacon looked at him and shook his head. "It's not a pretty story."

"You drinking?" Coleman asked.

Deacon shook his head again. "No, but I am in the market for a new liver."

Coleman's head dropped. "No, Deacon."

"Yep."

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

Deacon looked over at him. "I'm hopin' I can beat this and Rayna's with me on it, but I need some help makin' some plans...in case it don't work out like we hoped."

"Of course," Coleman replied. "I'll do whatever you need."


	13. Chapter 13

Deacon came out from his bedroom with a stack of papers and gestured toward the dining room table. Coleman got up and moved over to sit down across from him.

"What I could really use is someone to help me make sure I've got all of this stuff in order," Deacon said as he set the stack of papers down.

"Sure, I can do that Deac," Coleman said. "You got some paper so I can make some notes?"

Deacon got up and found a blank legal pad that he handed to the other man. He sat down in the dining room chair and sighed. "I've gotten a little bit better keeping track of this stuff and I've got a good accountant, but there's stuff from when Rayna and I was together, stuff we wrote together later on, stuff we recorded together, some other stuff I wrote for other people and sold, some of my own stuff...it's pretty well documented, but I want to make sure that if...well, if things don't work out that Maddie is taken care of and Scarlett, too."

"Okay," Coleman said, reaching for Deacon's pile of papers. "You have a will?"

Deacon shook his head. "I made some notes and stuff a few weeks ago, about some personal stuff, this house, the cabin, but I kind of forgot about the royalties and my rights, those things."

Coleman looked down at the pile, scanning the pages. "So, you're not making your living playing at the Bluebird?" He looked up at Deacon and smiled.

Deacon shook his head. "No, that's just kinda for fun to be honest."

Coleman made a couple more notes. "Well, the best thing would be to set up a trust for Maddie. I can do it, or I can find you a lawyer here in town who does estate work."

"Is it hard? I mean I know you're just here for a day or so," Deacon asked.

Coleman shrugged. "It's pretty straightforward. I think I can work something up from what you've shown me and send it over for your approval and signature. You'll need an executor, both for the estate and the trust."

"Are they the same person?" Deacon asked, leaning forward. "I've never done anything like this."

"They can be, don't have to be," Coleman replied. "For instance, you might want to make Rayna the executor of the trust, to look after things for Maddie and have someone else all together to handle the estate."

"Is it a lot of work?" Deacon asked. "I think I'd want her to handle the trust, but I don't want to leave her with a lot of other stuff to handle."

"I can handle the estate, if you want," Coleman offered. "Just let me know what goes in the trust, what goes directly to anyone else. You mentioned Scarlett. Anyone else?"

Deacon sat for a minute. "I have some life insurance. I think that should go to my sister."

Coleman nodded. "Okay, I'll need her address."

Deacon got up and went into the other room.

"When's the last time you saw her?" Coleman asked when he came back. "Seems like it's been a long time since I've heard anything about her."

"Last month," Deacon replied. "Scarlett got her to come down here, didn't tell her I was sick or nothin'. She...she took the test to see about donating part of her liver, but it didn't work out."

"Not a match?" Coleman asked, looking up from the page where he was making his notes.

Deacon shook his head. "Nah, she was a match, but it didn't work out. Just the same as always with me and her."

Coleman set his pen down. "She wouldn't do it or she couldn't?"

"At this point it's kind of the same thing," Deacon replied. "I get it...I did this to myself and why should she have to pay the price for it?"

"I'm sorry, man," Coleman responded. "That's a tough break."

"Yep," Deacon answered. "Just another one in a long, long lines of tough breaks for ole Deacon Claybourne."

"That's true, but there's been some good breaks, too, right?" Coleman asked.

Deacon smiled and nodded. "True. Findin' out about Maddie was a good break."

"And what about now," Coleman said. "Where were you before you got home?"

Deacon smiled again let out a quick laugh. "I was at Rayna's."

"Were you now…" Coleman started. "How's that going?"

Deacon shrugged. "In spite of all of this, it's pretty great. I think we're finally in the same place at the same time."

* * *

"You coming back tonight?" Rayna asked over the phone.

Deacon laid back in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. "I think I'm gonna just stay here tonight, okay?"

"Of course," Rayna replied. "I wish I could come over there with you, but Daphne has a friend here tonight."

"I guess I will just have to miss you in my bed," Deacon replied.

"As long as we don't make a habit of it," she answered. "You get the stuff done that you needed to do?"

"Yep," Deacon replied. "Need to talk with you about it tomorrow."

"Okay," Rayna answered. "You have a scan tomorrow, too, right?"

Deacon sighed. "Yeah, uh, 9 am and then the follow up tomorrow afternoon."

"Can I meet you there?" she asked.

He was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, Ray. I'd like that."

"And maybe a picnic in Percy Warner before the appointment?" she asked. "It's supposed to be real nice tomorrow, more like summer than spring."

"I'd like that a lot, Ray," he answered.

"Sleep well babe," she replied. "I love you, Deacon."

"Love you, too, Rayna," he answered, then ended that call.

* * *

Rayna sat on a chair in the waiting room while Deacon slipped the hospital gown on. She found herself giggling before she could help herself.

"You find this funny?" he said, trying to look serious, but then a smile crept across his face.

"It's not your best look, babe," she admitted, pointing to his feet. "The boots kind of ruin that whole ensemble."

"My feet get cold walking down the hall," Deacon explained. "I asked, I can wear them until I have to get into the machine."

"Is it scary?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's one of those open kinds, so at least it's not like being stuffed in some tube. But yeah, it's scary. It's all kinda scary."

"I wish I could be there with you," Rayna said, taking his hand.

"Well, then it would be really cozy," Deacon teased. He squeezed her hand in his. "You're here with me, that helps, babe."

She leaned in and kissed him. "Okay, go do this and then I've got something nice planned for the park."

"See you soon," he said as he got up, opened the door and headed down the hall toward the CT Scan suite.

"How long have we been coming here?" Deacon said as he held Rayna's hand as they walked toward their regular spot in Percy Warner Park.

"I don't know," Rayna said. "Maddie's almost 16...15 years, I guess."

Deacon looked over at her and smiled. "This is where I finally got to meet her."

Rayna sat down on the picnic table and looked over at him, a sad smile on her face. "I'm sorry we missed all of those years."

Deacon looked at her and nodded. "Me too, Ray, but I won't spend any time now regretting that and feeling bad about it. I'm so lucky to have my beautiful daughter and to have you here with me now. We both did a lot of stuff that didn't let that happen until it did."

Rayna nodded. She pulled open the bag she'd carried from the car. "I brought turkey sandwiches. I hope that's okay."

"You know I love your sandwiches," Deacon said, winking at her.

She smacked him lightly on the arm. "I knew you were just using them as an excuse to get me down to this park."

"Seemed like a safe enough excuse at the time," Deacon said, shaking his head. "Man, I know we were trying to do the best we could with the situation we had, but now I'm not sure how we made it work all of those years."

Rayna looked over at him and smiled. "I can't remember never loving you."

Deacon leaned in and kissed her. "Me either, Ray. You were always a part of me. Okay, give me that sandwich. For old times sake."

* * *

After they finished their lunch, Deacon opened his shoulder bag and pulled out a few pages. "I do need to talk to you about somethin'."

Rayna looked at the papers in his hand. "What is that, Deacon?"

He handed them to her. "I saw Cole last night, that's where I went. I...I asked him to help me write up my will, get some of my stuff straightened out."

She looked down at the papers, then back up at him, tears in her eyes. "You don't need to do this."

"Ray, we have a daughter, we should both have our affairs in order. We never know what could happen to us. So, Coleman is setting up a trust for Maddie. I want her to have my rights, the royalties and stuff. It's not millions of dollars, but it's a steady income. And you'll manage that for her until she's 21. I'm leaving my house to Scarlett, my guitars to Maddie and I want you to have the cabin. It was always yours, anyway."

Rayna scanned the page, then looked at him. "Okay, you're right. We should have these things in writing."

He reached in his bag and pulled out one more sheet. "And I want us to get this signed today, when we're at the hospital. I want you to make any medical decisions for me, if I can't. I don't want that to be on Scarlett."

Rayna nodded again, her tears coming harder now. "I'll do it, but I don't want to talk about it," she choked out. "I...I refuse to think this thing is going to take you from me. I refuse, Deacon."

"Good," he replied. "Cause I don't plan on lettin' it."

* * *

 _ **Thanks to all who have been reading along. Just one or two more chapters for this story, but I'm enjoying this "missing moments" genre, so I've got a couple others that I'm thinking about working on next.**_


	14. Chapter 14

Rayna came into the house to find Deacon in the kitchen with Daphne.

"What's this?" she asked as she came around to kiss Deacon and hug Daphne.

"We're making dinner," Daphne said. "Deacon is showing me how to make lasagna without boiling noodles."

"Ah, the short cut way," she said, laughing.

"No, the smart way," Deacon replied as he laid the dry noodles in the bottom of the baking pan.

"Where's your sister?" Rayna asked Daphne. "We expecting her for dinner?"

Daphne shrugged. "Who knows...seems like she's got something going on every night."

Rayna shot Deacon a look, but he shrugged.

"Okay, let's have your mom work on the salad and you can do the bread," Deacon replied, pulling a loaf of French bread from the grocery sack on the counter. "And if Maddie gets here in time, we can put her on clean-up."

* * *

"So, how did you meet my mom?" Daphne asked as they sat at the table eating dinner.

"Ah, that is a good story," Deacon said as he held his fork with a bite of salad on it. "The first time I saw her was at the Bluebird, when she sang at an open mike. But the first time I met her was when she showed up to take guitar lessons from me."

"You played the guitar?" Daphne asked, looking over at her mom.

Rayna laughed. "Well, I tried, for a little bit. But then I asked Deacon to help me with a song. He was a lot better at figuring out the music than I was."

Deacon reached over for Rayna's hand. "But your mom always had the words to go with it."

Daphne looked at them. "How old were you?"

Rayna sighed. "Now remember, do as I say, not as I do."

"Mom!" Daphne exclaimed.

"I was sixteen. Deacon was nineteen. Pretty young for some of that stuff, but old enough," Rayna replied.

"Why did you break up?" Daphne asked, her voice serious.

"That's a pretty big question," Rayna replied. "And maybe something we can talk about when you're older."

Deacon looked at both of them. "You're a lot like your sister. Lots of questions. Some that are hard for adults to answer sometimes, but we broke up because I have a disease. I'm an alcoholic. And even though I've been sober for a long time, I wasn't then. Which made it pretty hard to live with me and be with me."

"But you always loved her?" Daphne asked.

"I did. But she was married to your dad and had her family, so me loving her was something I needed to keep inside my heart," Deacon replied. He looked over at Rayna and smiled. "For better or worse, I knew I would love her until the day I died."

Daphne looked like she was going to ask something else when the kitchen door opened and Maddie walked in.

"Hey, honey, come join us?" Rayna asked. "Your dad and Daphne made lasagna."

Maddie stopped near the kitchen island and looked over at the three of them seated at the table. "I already ate at Chloe's. I'm going up to my room to work on my math."

"Sit with us a minute," Deacon invited her.

"Yeah, Deacon and Mom are just getting to the good stuff about how they started dating," Daphne added.

Maddie shook her head. "Can't." She hitched her backpack onto her shoulder and headed for the steps.

"Sorry, babe," Rayna said, tightening her hand around Deacon's.

"Everything in its own time," he replied. "Okay, who's ready for dessert?"

* * *

Rayna finished drying the last pot and laid the towel down on the counter. "Well, that was a full interrogation at dinner tonight."

Deacon took a sip of the cup of tea he was drinking and chuckled. "She definitely asks a lot of interesting questions."

"A lot of personal questions," Rayna replied. "I'm just not quite sure what to tell them."

Deacon set his cup down. "I think we tell them the truth, Ray. It's our story, our truth. I don't want to share anything that hurts Teddy, but we have a lot of history. Lots of water under the bridge."

Rayna crossed to him and slipped into his arms. "And lots more water to come." She leaned in and kissed him. "You ready to go to bed?"

Deacon shook his head. "I'm gonna head home. I think Maddie might need some time with her momma tonight and besides, Daphne might have more questions."

"Coward," she teased, swatting at his arm. "But, you're probably right. Will you come for breakfast tomorrow?"

He leaned in and kissed her. "Of course. I'll bring donuts."

* * *

Rayna watched as Deacon pulled away from the house, then turned off the lights and went upstairs. She paused at Maddie's bedroom door and knocked. After hearing Maddie's voice, she opened the door.

Maddie was on the phone. "Hey, I have to go," she said and ended her call.

"Did you have a good night, sweetie?" Rayna asked as she came to sit on the edge of Maddie's bed.

Maddie nodded.

"We missed you at dinner," Rayna replied. "It was a really fun evening."

"Sorry," Maddie responded, her voice low.

Rayna reached over and took Maddie's hand. "Please try to spend some time with Deacon. He's keeping his spirits up, but I know he wishes you were here more."

Maddie nodded. "I will, Mom. I promise."

"Okay, well, sleep well," Rayna said as she stood up. "I love you, honey."

She walked out of Maddie's room, closing the door behind her. She paused a moment later at Daphne's door, which was open slightly, her bedside lamp still on.

"Time to turn in, honey," she said as she walked into Daphne's room. "Thanks again for that great dinner."

Daphne smiled at her. Rayna came over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Is Deacon your true love?" Daphne asked.

Rayna looked down at the book Daphne was reading, _The Fault in Our Stars_ , and smiled. She remembered some of the same questions when Maddie read it a couple of years earlier, just after she found out Deacon was her father.

"Love is pretty complicated," Rayna started. "Deacon was my first love and I love him now, but I also loved your father for many years, that's why we were a family, why we had you."

"Do you still love him?" Daphne asked.

Rayna nodded. "It's different-I love that he is your dad, that we were a family. I know it's hard to understand, but it'll make more sense when you get a little bit older."

"Deacon's life is kind of tragic, isn't it?" Daphne asked.

Rayna chuckled internally at Daphne's choice of words, she was clearly influenced by her reading material. "Well, Deacon's had a lot of hard things happen in his life, but I'm not sure that I would call tragic-I'd try to not use that word with him, perhaps."

Daphne nodded.

"But I do want to thank you for being a good friend to him right now. It's really important for us to make sure Deacon knows that we love him and want him here."

"Why is Maddie acting like she is?" Daphne asked. "Like she doesn't want him to be here."

Rayna smiled at her youngest daughter. "We all handle things like this differently. I think that Maddie is feeling really scared about what might happen and it's making her protect her heart in a way that's different than you and me. Deacon did the same thing when he first found out. He stayed away from us, didn't tell us. But he opened up and your sister will too-she just needs to take her time."

"She's a lot like him, isn't she?" Daphne asked. "Am I like my dad?"

"You are, honey," Rayna replied as she slipped her arm around Daphne. "You're open and loving and generous, all things that made me love your dad.

"Lights out, now, okay?"

"Okay," Daphne answered. She snuggled down into her bed, Rayna kissed her on the forehead and turned out the light.

"Sleep well, my beautiful girl," she said as she left Daphne's room.

* * *

Deacon was sitting on the couch when Scarlett came in.

"You're not at Rayna's tonight?" she asked as she set her purse down.

"No, I thought she might need some time with the girls, tonight," Deacon explained as he set his journal down on the couch next to him and slid his glasses off.

Scarlett came over and sat down in the living room. "You thinkin' about makin' that a more permanent arrangement with Rayna? Y'all gonna get married?"

Deacon shook his head. "Not until we know what's gonna happen."

"That you talkin' or Rayna?" Scarlett asked.

"Me," Deacon replied. "I'm not gonna make her my widow before she ever gets to be my wife."

"They're gonna find a liver," Scarlett stated. "I refuse to believe anything else."

"Better do it soon," Deacon replied. "Cause the tumor grew again last week, gets much bigger and it won't be an option."

"Then, I'm gonna ask again, what are you doin' here?" Scarlett said.

Deacon shrugged. And to be honest, he wasn't sure either. But if he was going to make a change, move in with Rayna, it had to be okay with all of them and right now, it didn't feel like Maddie would welcome him being there and that was just too hard to deal with right now.

* * *

Rayna walked into her room and turned on the light. She looked over at the table on Deacon's side of the bed where there were signs of his presence...a pair of his readers, the book he'd been reading, the water glass he'd used the night before.

It felt empty without him. It no longer felt odd for him to be here, but with him gone, it felt like something was missing.

Her throat caught as she thought about what it would mean, if he didn't survive the cancer, if this is what lay in front of her every night.

She would talk to him in the morning. This needed to be Deacon's home. Now. For as long as they had.

FIN

* * *

 _ **So, that's it for this story! Thank you to all who have been reading and following and especially to those who have taken time to leave a review. I am most grateful...**_

 _ **Stay tuned, I'm planning to continue this in some fashion to cover the time between seasons 3 and 4. And for those reading at the end of May 2017...go watch new Nashville this week!**_


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